165.- Funny ha-ha or funny peculiar. Profesor

 

 

Neil: Hi there, Helen. Now, something really funny happened to me on my way here this morning.

Helen: Oh, really? Do tell me. I love a funny story!

Neil: Right. A man got on my bus wearing his shoes on the wrong feet.

Helen: OK. And what happened next?

Neil: Then he started speaking to me. He asked if I liked Shakespeare.

Helen: Oh, right.

Neil: And then he started reading one of Hamlet’s famous speeches!

Helen: Yeah, Neil?

Neil: Yeah?

Helen: You told me it was a funny story. But I’m not laughing. It’s not funny. It’s a bit weird.

Neil: Yeah – I meant funny peculiar, not funny ha-ha.

Helen: Funny peculiar?

Neil: Yes, ‘funny’ is usually something you laugh about. But sometimes we use ‘funny’ to mean ‘strange’ or ‘weird’. Because it has these two meanings – sometimes people want to make it clear which one they mean. ‘Funny ha-ha’ is for things which make you laugh, and ‘funny peculiar’ describes…

Helen: It describes things which are weird!

Neil: That’s it. These are our phrases in today’s The English We Speak. Let’s hear some examples.

A: Martin was late every day last week.
B: That’s funny.
A: You mean funny peculiar?
B: Yeah, it’s strange. He’s always on time.

A: I went to a funeral last week. Everyone there was in a good mood. It was funny. Funny peculiar, I mean.
B: Yeah that does sound a bit odd. But a funeral is a celebration of someone’s life.

Helen: Anyway, Neil, thanks for your story about the guy on the bus. Do you know what happened on my way to work today?

Neil: No?

Helen: The bus driver was telling jokes.

Neil: That’s funny, peculiar. It’s odd for bus drivers to tell jokes. But was the joke funny ha-ha?

Helen: Sadly, no! A bit like your jokes.

Neil: Hey – that’s not true! My jokes are funny!

Helen: They’re funny – peculiar!

Neil: Thank you so much, Helen.

Both: Bye!