English Language & Usage Asked by harogaston on August 1, 2020
I’ve come across this analogous question for the opposite case Idioms/Phrase for Obvious No but couldn’t find one for mine.
I’m looking for phrases like "Does the Pope pray?" or "Does a bear shit in the woods?".
Thank you.
I found a few websites that list out some examples and a suggested term to search for on Google.
A Google search of "sarcastic interrogative affirmatives and negatives" produces more...
A lecture on the use - Archer Taylor Memorial Lecture 2006: Is the Pope Still Catholic?: Historical Observations on Sarcastic Interrogatives
sarcastic interrogative. noun. Defined by folklorist Charles Clay Doyle as “stock questions with glaringly obvious yes or no answers. The function of each such question is to respond derisively to a prior query, itself calling for a yes or no answer so as to suggest that the answer to the original query is too obvious to be worth proffering seriously.” Perhaps the most famous example: “Is the Pope Catholic?” And perhaps the most canonical: “Can a duck swim?”
Some colorful examples:
Answered by JC007B on August 1, 2020
In some contexts, "obviously".
A computer salesman to an elderly gentleman who was asking a lot of "dumb" questions.
Salesman: Are you new to computers? Gentleman: Obviously.
Answered by Packard on August 1, 2020
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