U. S. Information Service American English & Culture

This past week I have been “cat-sitting” for my neighbor. She has been away on a business trip and I have been taking care of her cat “Sam” in my apartment. While I`m a dog person when it comes to pets, I have learned to appreciate the responsibilities and pleasures of being around a cat. Like Russians, Americans are very fond of pets and this thought inspired me to focus our page on animals and how they have become part of our language and culture. I hope you`ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

I. The Shaggy Dog Story

One kind of American humor is the “shaggy dog story” a longwinded tale that gradually works up to a surprise ending – an ending that is outside the limits of reality or logic.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English language defines a shaggy dog story as “a long, drawn-out anecdote depending for humor upon an absurd or anticlimactic punch line.” The World Book Dictionary describes a shaggy dog story as a “story which relates, usually at great length, a number of unimportant incidents in building up to an unexpected or ridiculous climax.”

One writer has compared life to the pattern of a shaggy dog story: both have a lead-in, build-up, and let-down. “Nothing turns out as expected, and in the end, the joke is on us”

(Botkin, Treasury of American Anecdotes, p. 256).

Shaggy dog stories were reportedly told as long ago as the days of ancient Greece, but Americans tend to think of them as their own because people like Abraham Lincoln and Davy Crockett told so many of them.

A. The Intelligent Dog

I`m going to tell you about an extraordinary thing that happened the other day. The day before yesterday, about eight o`clock at night, a young woman approached the box office of the best movie theater in the city. She had with her an enormous dog with a beautifully groomed coat. She bought two tickets and went toward the door, followed by her dog. The manager of the theater spoke to her, saying:

Manager: I`m sorry, miss, but dogs aren`t allowed in this

theater.

Girl: But I have a ticket for him.

Manager: I`m very sorry, but animals aren`t permitted.

Girl: You don`t understand. This is a very special case. My dog is so well trained and so intelligent that he`s almost human.

Manager: I see that you have an exceptional animal, but…

Girl: I promise you that if there is any problem we`ll leave the theater immediately. I assure that this dog isn`t like any other dog you`ve ever seen.

Manager: Well, all right. I`ll let you go in, since the theater is almost empty tonight. Nevertheless, your dog will have tobe have himself, or you will have to leave.

Several hours go by, and now the people are leaving the theater. The manager sees the girl with her dog.

Manager: I congratulate you. You were right; your dog behaved very well. I`ve been watching him, and it`s amazing how quiet he was.

Girl: I told you that he`s well trained and very intelligent.

Manager: He certainly is. It even seemed as if he was enjoying the movie.

Girl: Oh, he did enjoy it. He liked the film very much. However, he liked the book much better.

Vocabulary and Expressions

1. box office: a small office (in a theater, stadium, etc.) where ctickets are sold.

2. beautifully groomed coat: the hair or fur of an animal that has been carefully cleaned and brushed.

3. Well: a word used to introduce a remark, resume the thread of a conversation, or simply gain time to collect one`s thoughts

4. He liked the film…he liked the book much better. When a person has seen a moving picture that has been made from a popular book (having read the book earlier), he often comments, “I liked the movie, but I liked the book better.”

B. Shaggy dogs for strip stories

The following stories can be used as a strip story activity. Teachers should cut each sentence into a strip and give one to each of the students. The students have one minute to silently read and memorize the sentence that they have been given before returning the strip to the teacher. then within their group, they share their sentences with one another. Collectively they try to reconstruct the story. Once they have done this, the students recite their sentences in the order they think most logical. The rest of the class and the teacher will determine if the group has put the sentences together correctly.

1. The Poker Game (Strips for 9 students)

A man went away for the weekend.

He arrived rather late, after dinner.

The other members of the house party were all sitting around in

the living room.

At one end of the room a game of poker was in progress.

One of the players was a dog.

After he had been introduced all around, the man said to his

host:

“What a wonderfully intelligent dog to be able to play poker!”

“Well, he`s not a very good player really,” replied the host.

“Whenever he gets a good hand, he wags his tail.”

2. The Donkey (Strips for 6 students)

A professor tried to train his donkey to get along without

eating.

Each day he reduced the amount of hay he gave the animal.

From one bale of hay a day, he reduced the donkey`s intake to

nothing.

The donkey dropped dead of starvation.

“What an irreplaceable loss!” the professor lamented.

“Just when he had learned not to eat, he died.”

II. GAME: Hidden Animals

Find the animal hidden in each sentence. The first one has been done as a sample.

1. If you don`t go at ten o`clock, you`ll be late.

2. I abhor selfish people who think only of themselves.

3. We knew Bob was nervous because of his frantic attitude.

4. A rabbi taught me Hebrew.

5. The choir is singing poorly; tell them on key notes they

must get it right.

6. Stop complaining; without further ado go and finish your

homework.

7. What`s in the first aid kit? Ten bandaids, some antiseptic,

and some iodine.

8. After the collision Fred was pretty shaken up.

9. Legend has it that Lady Godiva was naked when she rode

through town.

10. No matter how many times we explain something to Andrew he never gets it right the first time.

11. Don`t tell me the teacher came late again!

12. I`m broke this weekend: be a real pal and lend me $10.00.

Answers appear at the bottom of the page.

III. Communicating with animals

A. Similes

busy as a bee

blind as a bat

hungry as a bear

busy as a beaver

free as a bird

happy as a clam

sick as a dog

smart as a fox

innocent as a lamb

happy as a lark

quiet as a mouse

stubborn as a mule

wise as an owl

strong as an ox

proud as a peacock

B. Proverbs and Idioms

Match each word or phrase in the first column with the word or phrase in the second column that produces a proverb or idiom.

1. A barking dog a. the dogs.

2. Never look a gift horse b. out of the bag.

3. Curiosity killed c. but you can`t make him drink

4. Dog-ea d. lie.

5. You can`t teach an old dog e. never bites.

6. Let sleeping dogs f. new tricks.

7. When the cat`s away g. of a different color.

8. Let the cat h. horses.

9. There`s more than one way i. hog.

10. It`s raining j. dog.

11. You may lead a horse to water k. to skin a cat.

12. Go to l. in the mouth.

13. Go whole m. the mice will play.

14. Hold your n. cats and dogs.

15. That`s a horse o. the cat.

C. Fun Expressions

go ape over something: (slang) to be extremely enthusiastic about something

eager beaver: a person who is excessively diligent or overly

zealous

for the birds: (slang) useless or worthless; not to be taken

seriously

chicken out: (slang) to lose one`s courage and avoid doing

something because one is afraid

clam up: (slang) to refuse to talk or reply; refrain from

divulging information

eat crow: (informal) to be forced to admit to having made a

mistake; to have to retract a statement, humiliatingly

like water off a duck`s back: having little or no effect

white elephant: a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of; something disproportionately expensive with regard to its usefulness or value

ferret something out: to search out, discover, or bring to light

wild-goose chase: an absurd or hopeless search for something

nonexistent or unobtainable

Answer Key

Answers to Hidden Animals: 1. goat; 2. horse; 3. cat; 4. rabbit;

5. monkey; 6. dog; 7. kitten; 8. wasp; 9. snake; 10. hen;

11. camel; 12. bear.

Answers to Proverbs and Idioms: 1.e; 2.l; 3.o; 4.j; 5.f; 6.d;

7.m; 8.b; 9.k; 10.n; 11.c; 12.a; 13.i; 14.h; 15.g;

LETTERS

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English and American culture. We will attempt to answer all

letters personally as well as on this page when space permits.

And if there are particular subjects you want us to discuss,

please let us know. Our address is:

Gregory John Orr

English Language Office/USIS

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