British humor

GoldCoinLover

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Could someone help me understand british humor? I'm interesting in buying a game for my PSP (Playstation portable game system) which has a game called Medievil . It has great voiceovers, but its in british humor and I'm american. When the character dies (Sir.Daniel) he says something about falling in a boat? Or I wish I wouldnt have fallen in the boat. Something like that. Its a great game, if you have a PSP i recommend getting it.
 
GoldCoinLover said:
When the character dies (Sir.Daniel) he says something about falling in a boat ? Or I wish I wouldnt have fallen in the boat. Something like that.
I don't think you have to be British to get the humour of it; but knowing that it's supposed to be funny can help. In my opinion it sounds like a language joke that plays with the land-water/falling-drowning contrast. The reasoning should go something like this.

Normally, if a person dies from falling on dry land, that is unfortunate, but still a possible accident.
If a person dies from falling into the water, that is also unfortunate, but again understandable.

But if a person on dry land dies drowning in a bowl, saucer, or basin, then he is EXTREMELY unlucky or is a damned fool.
Likewise, if a person dies on a boat by falling down on dry deck, and not by falling into the water and drowing, that person is also EXTREMELY unlucky or is a damned fool. ;)
 
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lexico said:
I don't think you have to be British to get the humour of it; but knowing that it's supposed to be funny can help. In my opinion it sounds like a language joke that plays with the land-water/falling-drowning contrast. The reasoning should go something like this.

Normally, if a person dies from falling on dry land, that is unfortunate, but still a possible accident.
If a person dies from falling into the water, that is also unfortunate, but again understandable.

But if a person on dry land dies drowning in a bowl, saucer, or basin, then he is EXTREMELY unlucky or is a damned fool.
Likewise, if a person dies on a boat by falling down on dry deck, and not by falling into the water and drowing, that person is also EXTREMELY unlucky or is a damned fool. ;)


Here, I found the quote. Here it is, that's not actually what he says. Sorry :(:
The best part of the game is easily the sound. All of the voices are really well done. For example, when you die you see a close-up of Dan's skull/face, and you hear Death say in an almost exasperated tone, "Dan, Dan, Dan. Step on the boat. You know the procedure."
 
That appears not to be a matter of the difference between British and American humor but rather a matter, perhaps, of your not being familiar with the boatman who transports souls across the river Styx.

http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/styx.html
http://www.hiddenmeanings.com/pluto.html
http://artyzm.com/world/s/subleyras/charon.htm

So understanding the "Step on the boat. You know the procedure." thing would be dependent on a knowledge of the Classics, rather than on a familiarity with things British.
 
mikecash said:
That appears not to be a matter of the difference between British and American humor but rather a matter, perhaps, of your not being familiar with the boatman who transports souls across the river Styx.

http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/styx.html
http://www.hiddenmeanings.com/pluto.html
http://artyzm.com/world/s/subleyras/charon.htm

So understanding the "Step on the boat. You know the procedure." thing would be dependent on a knowledge of the Classics, rather than on a familiarity with things British.

Ooh I see, thank you mikecash. Was the statement supposed to be funny?

Hmm. It did happen in medievil times, hence the name of the game. Are you sure it was referring to the greek mythology? What did he mean when he said this? However, I think you may be right because: In the game you kill undead, the more undead you kill the more your chalice fills up. When your chalice is full, you can get rewards from the gods. When you kill an undead, their spirit goes into the chalice.

How did you know this ? You are smart mikecash.hehe
 
It's funny in the same way that an American cop saying "Assume the position" to someone who is (or can be assumed to be) familiar with the process of being arrested is funny. By his choice of phrase, we know something about the other person.

How did I know it? It's common knowledge.
 
It could also be a reference to King Arthur and the boat to avalon, (although the Styx explaination seems more appropriate)
 
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Probably the King Arthur story is a reworking of the Greek myth anyway.
 

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