This is a dialogue between townspeople, from the conclusion of
_Pudd'nhead Wilson_:
>"And this is the man the likes of us have called
>a pudd'nhead for more than twenty years. He has resigned from that
>position, friends."
>"Yes, but it isn't vacant--we're elected."
I wonder why they use words like "resign," "position" and "elect" here.
Is it a pun on "President" Wilson?
Because English, which I teach in Japan, is not my mother tongue, I
sometimes have this kind of difficulty in understanding jokes. I'm in no
hurry and hope someone will post an answer sometime.
Ryota Iijima
Assistant Professor
Fukushima University
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www2.educ.fukushima-u.ac.jp/~ryota/