Money Pun

Sometimes, I deliver up a gem without even trying to do so.

This week, I'm in management training. Naturally, the training discussed the prevention of discrimination of all sorts. When the class got to the discussion of sexual harassment, I was busy sending an email to my office via Blackberry, so I wasn't listening too closely to what the instructor said.

Then I heard my name and my ears sort of briefly opened up. "You practice law. Can you explain to the class what is meant by Quid pro Quo?"

Without even thinking, hands still flying on the Blackberry, I said "sure, tit for tat."

As 30 of my classmates went into an extended guffaw, I remembered, "quid pro quo" describes the kind of discrimination where the subordinate is asked to provide sexual favors in exchange for job benefits like promotion - This for That, or in slang, tit for tat.

As the laughter eventually subsided, I realized that not only was this the greatest pun I have ever managed to achieve, but it included latin in the setup. Alas, I'm not the first one to do this as I later found out with the Googleizer, but still I did come up with it independently so it's still a great quip. Not as great as the greatest pun of all time, which included latin in the delivery, and for which you had to have passing familiarity with two languages and foreign geography, but still quite not bad for an amateur.

Oh, you want to know the greatest pun of all time? Fine. You asked for it.

Peccavi.

Read about it here, along with Sir Charles' novel method for stopping the burning of widows upon funeral pyres.


For what it's worth, I'm on a hotel exercycle this week. I could have ridden my mostly built up fixie, which I have to say is heartbreakingly beautiful. But I neglected to bring it thinking I wouldn't have a chance or the inclination to ride. It's not the last thing I'll regreat doing this week but it's one of the more poignant.