Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Telling Phrase 3: "Shut the front door!"

The exclamatory phrase "Shut the front door!" can be used in a couple of different ways. Obviously, it could be taken literally to mean, "Hey you left the door open as you walked in. Close it." This phrase could also mean, "I'm shocked and you left my mouth hanging open. Are you being serious so that I can close my mouth now?" This second meaning is the one that motivated me to select this phrase as a telling phrase. Obviously, this phrase would not immediately be thought to mean the second of the two meanings. This implication makes me believe that this is a bit of a loaded statement. It could also indicate the statement, "Are you freaking kidding me!?" or "Wow, that's great." On the other hand, it could also mean, "Holy cow, that's not good." Even though this phrase has implications that could imply many things, it could also be seen as a very non-telling phrase because there is so much meaning that is left for tone, pitch, volume, and movement.

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