Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Things That Make Me Laugh #3

In a query, someone described his novel as having "more irony than shootin' irons."

Does anyone want to explain to me what that means?

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

A rejection?

The Rejecter said...

Well, I wouldn't reject it on that alone...

... Maybe I would. But he gave me plenty of other ammunition.

Anonymous said...

Well, there you go. If you haven't sent the rejection yet, would you be at risk of leading him on if you ask what the phrase means?

I was the publisher of a satire publication for restaurant employees and received a ton of queries. Anytime I deviated from the standard query/response process, the writers contacted me repeatedly, assuming I was opening up for dialogue. Yikes.

Anonymous said...

Well, since a shootin' iron is a gun, and it's made of iron, clearly he's trying to make puns in his query letter.

...why someone would WANT to make the person reading their query groan, I have no idea.

Then again, you did say he gave you plenty of AMMUNITION. ;)

Anonymous said...

This is known as skid-talk in some circles. The writer comes close to a working pun or simile, just to slide off the road into the ditch.

Anonymous said...

I'da said, "More irony than Geritol" but I'm not sure you're old enough to get that one either. ;)

Anonymous said...

I think it's a hoot and a holler!

Dave Kuzminski said...

He probably adapted (stole) it from a line in a Robert Plant song.

Anonymous said...

He heard his brothers Darrell, Spud and Bubba talking about it and thought it sounded cute

Anonymous said...

At the risk of sounding a tad racist (I'm not, I swear), would it have been better if he said "more irony than a Chinese laundry"?

Dwight's Writing Manifesto said...

I'm totally stealing that, Anony.

Madge G. Sinclair said...

More irony than shooting irons?

Sounds to me like someone sniffed glue while writing their query again...

(Note to self: Set hair on fire.)

Anonymous said...

If it's a true western phrase, I haven't heard it in Texas. If it's a demonstration of ability to turn out a witty phrase, I'm afraid he's shot himself in the foot with a leaden attempt.

I'm sure he thought it was a good idea at the time.

Anonymous said...

At the risk of playing naive, maybe it was actually supposed to be a comparison. Like, he's noting how his western is different by saying there is more irony in his novel than there are guns.

Or something. Dunno why the heck I'm trying to justify this.

Anonymous said...

Agreeing with a previous anonymous poster. The writer meant that this novel has more irony than it has shooting irons. He didn't mean that shooting irons have irony, but the book has more. So, I'm guessing it's a western that's heavier on irony than gunfire.

Anonymous said...

anon 2:14

I think you're right. And don't apologize for a very sensible guess.

Anonymous said...

For some unknown reason, it seemed clear to me even before reading the comments. I agree with the last two anons, and it wouldn't even have to be a western. He's saying his novel has more irony (dry humor, subtleties) than guns (plot-driven action, car chases, explosions).

Might have been easier just to say "My literary novel..." :-)

Anonymous said...

See, when you shoot irons, although the buzz is good, they taste pretty... irony.

Anonymous said...

The worst term I've ever read in a query: "flaccid penis"

that is all.

writtenwyrdd said...

Obviously a pun in intent, but a sad failure in, um, execution.

Anonymous said...

I believe the author is suggesting that the book contains a good deal of irony, since guns are very irony. Really, people...

Anonymous said...

I would have said,"More irony than George Bush at a Mensa meeting."

Anonymous said...

I think his query was shooting blanks

Anonymous said...

I think his query was shooting blanks...or he shot himself in the foot.

HomeRoamer said...

I think this is the funniest thing I've read in months...maybe ever. Wow.