Book title puns [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Porthos

2009-10-26, 01:07 AM

Is "Dungeon Crawlin' Fools" a pun on something? Or did it come out before the Giant decided to make all the other book titles puns?

As near as any of us can tell, it's not a pun on anything. The closest thing that it might reference is "Dungeon Crawling Tools". That is, the tools that one uses when on a "Dungeon Crawl". In this case, the pun would be the referencing the party as a bunch of fools on a Dungeon Crawl.

Outside of that, the vast board consensus is that Rich didn't start with Cultural Allusions until he released On the Origins of PCs

Nimrod's Son

2009-10-26, 01:17 AM

Porthos

2009-10-26, 01:28 AM

I've seen a few people claim it's a pun on "Bottom Dwellin' Fools" (whatever that may be), but since a Google search on that phrase only returns posts on this forum, I think it's safe to say that it isn't.

Even if you make it "Bottom Dwelling Fools" you will only get six hits (all of them meaningless). Well, it'll be seven once Google caches this page. :smallwink:

Nimrod's Son

2009-10-26, 01:32 AM

Even if you make it "Bottom Dwelling Fools" you will only get six hits (all of them meaningless). Well, it'll be seven once Google caches this page. :smallwink:
I know, I've tried. And also been met with telling silence whenever I've asked anyone putting that theory forward to explain what exactly "Bottom Dwellin' Fools" is supposed to be. :smallannoyed:

The Extinguisher

2009-10-26, 02:05 AM

The name seems familiar, like it should be a pun of something. But I have no idea what of.

Nimrod's Son

2009-10-26, 02:09 AM

Pretty sure that if it were a pun on something, then somebody would have caught it by now. It's a pretty poor pun if no one in the world gets it. :smallwink:

Mystic Muse

2009-10-26, 02:10 AM

Pretty sure that if it were a pun on something, then somebody would have caught it by now. It's a pretty poor pun if no one in the world gets it. :smallwink:

................or maybe

THE BOOK IS A NINJA!:eek:

The Extinguisher

2009-10-26, 02:23 AM

Pretty sure that if it were a pun on something, then somebody would have caught it by now. It's a pretty poor pun if no one in the world gets it. :smallwink:

Yeah, it probably isn't a pun. It just... feels like it is. Which could be why everyone is trying to figure out what it means.

AxeD

2009-10-26, 04:34 AM

Talking about book title puns, I bought On the Origins of PCs recently and didn't get Redcloak's preface.

He notes that the title is a pun, but I don't get it.:smallconfused:

Katana_Geldar

2009-10-26, 04:39 AM

Ask this guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin)

Nimrod's Son

2009-10-26, 04:39 AM

Talking about book title puns, I bought On the Origins of PCs recently and didn't get Redcloak's preface.

He notes that the title is a pun, but I don't get it.:smallconfused:
You're not a Creationist, by any chance, are you? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_origin_of_species) :smalltongue:

Andore Mordre

2009-10-26, 08:06 AM

SensFan

2009-10-26, 08:15 AM

Book 1: Dancin' Fool (I think, maybe?)
Book 2: No Cure for the Summertime Blues
Book 3: War and Peace
Prequel Book 1: On the Origin of PCs
Prequel Book 2: Heart of Darkness

Any other questions? :smallbiggrin:
You mean
"Prequel Book 1: On the Origin of Species" :P

Andore Mordre

2009-10-26, 08:28 AM

You mean
"Prequel Book 1: On the Origin of Species" :P

Errrr yeah, sorry, editing that... :smallredface:

FujinAkari

2009-10-26, 12:12 PM

You mean
"Prequel Book 1: On the Origin of Species" :P

The book is so revolutionary that its title was a reference to itself.

Porthos

2009-10-26, 03:13 PM

Before anyone asks...

Don't Split the Party IS NOT a pun or allusion to any popular work.

So sayth (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7195040&postcount=5) The Giant (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7195031&postcount=57).

It simply is a repeating of the age old advice to adventurers everywhere.

And one that they never, ever, listen to. :smalltongue:

AxeD

2009-10-26, 04:52 PM

Ouch!:smallfrown: Those are some fairly lame puns! I think I took 1d3 damage from each one!

Raging Gene Ray

2009-10-26, 06:03 PM

Ouch!:smallfrown: Those are some fairly lame puns! I think I took 1d3 damage from each one!

Has anybody ever actually ENJOYED a pun? Not the "so hilariously bad it's good" kind of enjoyment, but genuine enjoyment?

TheBST

2009-10-26, 06:09 PM

Has anybody ever actually ENJOYED a pun?

Yes. The person who made the pun, wathcing the audience squirm and groan.

That's the whole point of puns.

Also: 'Dungeon Crawlin' Fools' probably isn't a pun either.

Raging Gene Ray

2009-10-26, 06:14 PM

Yes. The person who made the pun, wathcing the audience squirm and groan.

That's the whole point of puns.

Well, I liked "Origin of the PCs" (The pun...haven't read the book).

Porthos

2009-10-26, 06:15 PM

Has anybody ever actually ENJOYED a pun? Not the "so hilariously bad it's good" kind of enjoyment, but genuine enjoyment?

Yes. The person who made the pun, wathcing the audience squirm and groan.

That's the whole point of puns.

Are you kidding?? I love puns. Maybe it's the pleasure of seeing the English language being twisted. Maybe it's the joy of seeing a well told joke. Or maybe it's even enjoying the double or triple layers of meaning that a well told pun can deliver. Maybe it's even the knowledge that one can use the pun to torture other people when you repeat it.

Or maybe it's just down to the fact that some people have different senses of humor than others.

...

Nahhh that couldn't possibly be it. :smalltongue:

Puns de León

2009-10-26, 06:26 PM

Has anybody ever actually ENJOYED a pun? Not the "so hilariously bad it's good" kind of enjoyment, but genuine enjoyment?

Are you kidding? If the author of the pun has any talent, they're absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately, those kind of people have been at a premium, which is why we've got this whole anti-pun culture.
For god's sake, let's not forget Shakespeare.

The last puns I squirmed at were Elan's in 684, but I'm pretty sure that was due to a special effort in characterization on Rich's part.

^ Ninja'd because of particular inattentiveness there, but the point stands.

Meg

2009-10-26, 07:37 PM

Has anybody ever actually ENJOYED a pun? Not the "so hilariously bad it's good" kind of enjoyment, but genuine enjoyment?

I like puns. I genuinely laughed when my English teacher announced we'd be reading Great Expectations, and said it wasn't everything he'd been hoping for.

I was the only one who laughed, though.

Lissou

2009-10-27, 11:39 AM

Has anybody ever actually ENJOYED a pun? Not the "so hilariously bad it's good" kind of enjoyment, but genuine enjoyment?

There was a stand-up comedian called Raymond Devos who specialised in puns. His skits would revolves around puns on a theme. I love his stuff, it's wonderful. It's clever, none of the puns ever make you go "ouch", and it's hilarious.
(Oh, before you look for bits by him, I almost forgot to add it was all in French, so you probably wouldn't get any of it if you don't speak the language).

Random832

2009-10-27, 12:48 PM

It simply is a repeating of the age old advice to adventurers everywhere.

I thought that was advice to DMs.

Hann

2009-10-27, 01:16 PM

Nah, DMs love it, provided they're sadistic people who like to see the adventurers die in nasty ways.

So yeah, DMs love it.

Nimelennar

2009-10-27, 02:13 PM

I like puns. I genuinely laughed when my English teacher announced we'd be reading Great Expectations, and said it wasn't everything he'd been hoping for.

I was the only one who laughed, though.

That's not a pun: he didn't twist the meaning of the words. It's just a play on words.

That reminds me of a time I was tutoring English; there were three of us assigned a class of thirty students, so each of us got ten students. The assignment was to teach plays on words. I asked every student to write down a pun, and put it in a hat, then I explained the rules of what made a pun distinct from other plays on words.

I then read aloud all ten submissions to see if any of them met all of the criteria, and wouldn't you know it...

No pun in ten did.

That being said, I wish that the Giant used more puns in his titles. The ones that do have puns are hilarious.

Mystic Muse

2009-10-27, 05:13 PM

okay. It's not a pun but here's why "don't split the party." might sound like one. or at least why it might sounds familiar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUMCIn2swTU

BatRobin

2009-10-27, 05:25 PM

That's not a pun: he didn't twist the meaning of the words. It's just a play on words.

That reminds me of a time I was tutoring English; there were three of us assigned a class of thirty students, so each of us got ten students. The assignment was to teach plays on words. I asked every student to write down a pun, and put it in a hat, then I explained the rules of what made a pun distinct from other plays on words.

I then read aloud all ten submissions to see if any of them met all of the criteria, and wouldn't you know it...

No pun in ten did.

That being said, I wish that the Giant used more puns in his titles. The ones that do have puns are hilarious.

I never got the fact that it's a double pun until not too long ago.

No one in ten did

and

No pun intended.

Porthos

2009-10-27, 05:36 PM

or at least why it might sounds familiar.

It sounds familiar because its a phrase that has been used around gaming tables ever since gaming tables were invented. :smallwink: The song is simply referencing that idea. :smallsmile:

---

BTW: The reason people (both DMs and Players) love to split the party is a fairly simple one. One, it theoretically lets people do two things at the same time, thus, again in theory, save time*. Secondly, Spilting the Party is a trope that is practically a law in most fiction. And, thirdly, people get stubborn and insist on taking care of whatever their character finds important. And if the only way to solve multiple problems simultaneously is to Split the Party? Well, c'est le vie, as the saying goes.

* I say "in theory" because in practice, more often than not, it takes more time as the game grinds to a halt as the DM tries to deal with two seperate situations one at a time. :smallwink:

Puns de León

2009-10-27, 06:26 PM

I never got the fact that it's a double pun until not too long ago.
No one in ten did
and
No pun intended.

This isn't a double pun, it's just a pun.

Regular pun - 2 meanings (one stated, the other hidden)
Double pun - 3 meanings (one stated, 2 hidden), or something like 2 puns in the same word

As for the pun itself: :smallcool:, very :smallcool:.

Koretsu

2009-10-28, 04:07 AM

Book 1: Dancin' Fool (I think, maybe?)
Book 2: No Cure for the Summertime Blues
Book 3: War and Peace
Prequel Book 1: On the Origin of Species
Prequel Book 2: Heart of Darkness

Any other questions? :smallbiggrin:

Start of Darkness is one of those rare double-puns, because SoD is also a common acronym among D&D players for what is called a Save-or-Die spell (a favorite of villains and necromancers).