Multi-Modal Unintended Puns--The New Nemesis?

On March 10, I reported that as I was blowing my nose, without actually thinking the word "blow," I said to myself that "it blows me away"--the feeling of my head about to explode. I called that a "multi-media" pun, but I realize that a better term is probably "multi-modal." If you have a better term, let me know. But now, I'm starting to notice these non-verbal/verbal combinations a lot. And the last one was painful, in many more ways than one.

My wife, Christine, a wonderful woman, happens to be a great doctor who specializes in headaches. Click here to read about her practice. As she was injecting Botox, which helps prevent headaches, into various parts of my head and neck, our daughter Claire was discussing something with her. A little context: Christine has said that of all her patients, I probably react most negatively to the needle. I guess I have a very low tolerance to the sharp jabs.

March 26, 2011
Right as she was sticking the needle into the back of my neck, Christine said: “It's not so much the money but the time that's the pain in the neck.”

As I said, painful in more ways than one.