Corpus of English contrastive focus reduplications

The examples are in alphabetical order of the reduplicated string. At the end of this page are indexes sorting the examples into various categories (part of speech, source, etc.).

Examples so far: 237

The examples

• Foreign Exchange
  [euphemistically asking for details of a date]
  So tell me about it. Did you, uh, did you get a car?
  I don't drive.
  You know, a car with a "working engine"? You know? R-r-r-r-r. You know? A-CAR-a-car. A car that you could have sex with.
  
  
• Wonderfalls
  Trailer's moving. A lot. A-LOT-a-lot.
  
  
• I like it quite a lot but not A-LOT-a-lot.
  
  
• I Heart Huckabees
  Brad:   Okay. I said I get it, Bernie. Relax.
  Vivian:  Passive-aggressive.
  Brad:   Shut up.
  Bernard:   AGGRESSIVE-aggressive.
  
  
• Felicity
  Felicity:   But...performing that song at a club where our mutual friends hang out? I mean that's like passive-aggressive or something.
  Julie:   No, it's not.
  Felicity:   You're right, it's AGGRESSIVE-aggressive.
  
  
• AIR-CANADA-Air-Canada or Canadian-Air Canada?
  [heard at an airport. For some time after Air Canada bought Canadian Airlines, ticketing services had been merged but the check-in counters hadn't. You had to know which pre-merger airline used to run your "Air Canada" flight in order to get into the right check-in line at the airport. ]
  [NLLT example: 38e]
  
  
• Student:   I'm all done.
  Professor:   ALL-DONE-all-done?
  
  
• Significant Others
  Cam:  And it turns out my two best friends have been getting it on for a while. Me, I just found out.
  Jane:  Nell and Henry? Really?
  Cam:  I'm alone. I mean, ALONE-alone. I haven't seen anyone since you.
  
  
• Does she live in AMHERST-Amherst? Das ist ein kleines Dorf. [That's a small village].
  [heard in Frankfurt]
  
  
• Sounds Like Canada
  Jian Ghomeshi:   Neil Young may be more of an ARTIST-artist than a song-artist.
  [explaining why Neil Young, while he deserves to be on a list of essential artists, might not deserve to have a song on a list of 50 essential songs.]
  
  
• That's not AUCKLAND-Auckland, is it?
  [about an ad for flights to Auckland that seem too cheap to be true]
  [NLLT example: 1e]
  
  
• Is 37 grams [of saturated fat] good or bad? And even if we have an intuition that it's bad, we'd wonder if it was "BAD-bad" (like cigarettes) or "normal bad" (like a cookie or a milk shake).
  Chip and Dan Heath, Made to Stick, Random House, 2007
  
  
• Plus, there's a lot of really bad fiction out there -- not just wish-it-was-bad fiction that's actually really good, but BAD-bad fiction.
  Curtis Sittenfeld on new book by Nell Freudenberger, Salon Magazine (Books), September 4, 2003
  
  
• Do you want to go to the BANK-bank?
  [as opposed to an ATM]
  
  
• teenager's diary, read on radio
  [name] is coming down for the weekend and I want to be with him -- BE-be with him.
  
  
• Port Charles
  Rafe:   I'm thinking of the beach.
  Alison:   OK, a beach. OK, well, what kind of a beach?
  Rafe:   It's a -- you know, the -- a BEACH-beach.
  Alison:   "A BEACH-beach." Oh, wow.
  Rafe:   What?
  Alison:   You are seriously challenged in the fantasy department.
  
  
• Oh, that's BEACON-STREET-Beacon-Street.
  [The same street name often is used for totally unrelated streets in different towns in the Boston area. The speaker is being given directions home, and has just figured out that the Beacon Street in West Newton is in fact a continuation of the famous Beacon Street in Boston.]
  [NLLT example: 9c]
  [NLLT example: 37c]
  
  
• Gideon's Crossing
  A doctor:   When you say she's getting better, do you mean BETTER-better?
  [NLLT example: 33a]
  
  
• Dawson's Creek
  Audrey:   At another restaurant?
  Pacey:   No, on a boat.
  Audrey:   A restaurant on a boat. That's kind of weird.
  Pacey:   No, a BOAT-boat, the kind that sails around the world and takes me with it.
  
  
• When you were a kid and you had a dog, did you ever try eating a bone? Not one of those BONE-bones, but a Milkbone?
  
  
• A:   I've been invited to go bowling tonight.
  B:   BOWLING-bowling?
  [This prompted a discussion of the different types of bowling found in Winnipeg.]
  [NLLT example: 17]
  [NLLT example: 36c]
  
  
• Just Shoot Me
  Eliot:   When was the last time you had a boyfriend?
  Maya:   You mean a BOYFRIEND-boyfriend?
  [NLLT example: 38a]
  
  
• ...after we had finally BROKE-IT-OFF-broke-it-off, I found out he had bought me an engagement ring.
  [talking about going through repeated cycles of breaking up with someone and then getting back together ]
  [NLLT example: 43b]
  
  
• Is he like a BUSINESSMAN-businessman? Or is this like when I used to sell lemonade and call myself a businessman?
  weirdosofwinnipeg.blogspot.com, May 30, 2008
  
  
• [Waiter to a customer who has ordered carrot-cake]
  Is that carrot cheesecake or carrot CAKE-cake?
  
  
• New York Times, April 11, 2004
  Automakers are reluctant to admit to making what designers call CAR-cars, the basic family sedans bought by millions of typical Americans. Instead, they prefer to draw attention to fanciful design studies that project fun and freedom ... But CAR-cars do still exist...
  
  
• Natalie Portman, quoted in the Boston Globe, November 28, 2004
  First of all, I'm not like a CELEBRITY-celebrity; I don't get recognized when I'm walking down the street.
  
  
• I only have CHANGE-change.
  [coins as opposed to bills]
  
  
• The Whole Nine Yards
  [Jimmy is a notorious mob hitman from Chicago, now hiding under an assumed identity. His neighbour Nicholas is desperate not to let Jimmy suspect he's recognized him. ]
  Jimmy:   Where are you from?
  Nicholas:   Chicago. Not CHICAGO-Chicago. I was born there but I really don't know anything about Chicago anymore.
  
  
• He's a Christian, I mean a CHRISTIAN-Christian.
  [not just a Christian as distinct from a Jew, but a believing, practising one]
  [NLLT example: 36d]
  
  
• [mother to son about a friend]
  Is he in your swim-class or your CLASS-class?
  
  
• Hyperion Bay
  [dialogue between a married couple, recently separated and now living apart]
  A:   Maybe you'd like to come in and have some coffee?
  B:   Yeah, I'd like that.
  A:   Just COFFEE-coffee, no double meanings.
  [NLLT example: 12]
  
  
• Dawson's Creek
  Dawson:   Okay. But you said you thought about it...
  Joey:   Yes, thought, Dawson.
  Dawson:   You actually considered-thought-about-it or just ordinarily thought about it?
  Joey:   What difference does it make?
  Dawson:   I'm a teenage guy! It makes all the difference in the world.
  Joey:   I considered and thought about it.
  Dawson:   Well, that's good. Considered's very good.
  ...
  Dawson:   So when you say you've considered it...you mean thought-about-it considered-it or just CONSIDERED-IT-considered-it.
  Joey:   Would you just shut up and row!
  [NLLT example: 27b]
  [NLLT example: 41b]
  [NLLT example: 84d]
  
  
• We're not one of those COUPLE-couples.
  [female, around 30, explaining that she and her partner often socialize separately]
  [NLLT example: 31b]
  
  
• She wasn't a fancy cow, a Hereford or Black Angus or something, just a COW-cow.
  Russell Banks, "Cow-Cow", short story in The Angel on the Roof, 2000.
  [NLLT example: 3c]
  
  
• Who needs street-cred? I don't even have CRED-cred.
  [i.e., he can't get a loan]
  
  
• Home Improvement
  Tim:   Alright! Alright! Alright! Let's steer clear of the meat products for a minute. Let's talk about real emotion. Crying. [Jim and Kyle suddenly look more uncomfortable] When was the last time you cried. Jim?
  Jim:   You mean CRIED-cried, or cried because something heavy fell on you? Once I dropped this spinet piano on my foot.
  [NLLT example: 32b]
  
  
• Port Charles
  Jack:   How would you like to be my partner in crime?
  Alison:   Crime? Ramsey, I don't do crime.
  Jack:   No, whoa, it's not, like, CRIME-crime. It's crime -- well --
  
  
• Dead Like Me
  Doris:   Feel like a little lunch, Millie?
  Georgia/Millie:   Ah, actually I have plans today.
  Doris:   Really?
  Georgia/Millie:   Yeah, it's kind of a lunch date.
  Doris:   Oh.
  Georgia/Millie:   I mean, not a DATE-date.
  
  
• "It's just that ... if this isn't a DATE-date, and it feels like one to me, then I thought I ought to tell you.
  Nick Hornby, About a Boy, 1998, page 21
  
  
• Frasier
  Martin:   Uh, you know, I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding here. I didn't mean this to be a DATE-date, more of a friendship thing. You know, I really enjoy your company...
  
  
• Dawson's Creek
  Andie:   Don't you think that when you show up with Ethan at the prom, they're gonna kind of figure out that he's your date?
  Jack:   He's not my DATE-date. We're just going as friends. He calls it taking it to the next step towards self-acceptance and actualization. Whatever the hell that means.
  
  
• As the World Turns
  Lucy:   A DATE-date? I'm jealous. I've never been on one.
  Bonnie:   Our first official.
  
  
• Days of Our Lives
  Philip:   Oh, come on, chloe. I know we're a long way from all of that. Look, I just want to take you out, okay? Just hang out with you some night. Okay, it doesn't have to be at night. It doesn't have to be a DATE-date. We could just hang out some afternoon -- no big deal.
  Chloe:   Okay, low pressure. Not movies, not dinner. That leaves us with... bowling?
  
  
• Days of Our Lives
  Jennifer:   It's not a joke? I mean, you're asking me out for real on an actual date?
  Brandon:   On an actual date. Not like the last time.
  Jennifer:   No, I know. The last time, you were rescuing me, but this would be, like, a DATE-date.
  
  
• Dead Like Me
  In case I haven't been clear, I'm un-dead, not DEAD-dead. All those biological urges still apply.
  
  
• What's the difference between brain-dead and DEAD-dead?
  Michael Enright, host on national CBC radio show, June 2000
  
  
• Red Dwarf
  You're not dead, are you? I mean, you're dead, but you're not DEAD-dead, because you're still here, aren't you?
  
  
• Nadine
  Nadine:   You don't have to worry about that, he's dead.
  Vernon:   You mean DEAD-dead?
  
  
• Nobody's doing DEAF-deaf ed [education]. They're all doing deaf-and-hard-of-hearing ed.
  
  
• Dickie Roberts, Former Child Star
  Grace:   Yeah, okay, meanwhile, there's this woman, Esmerelda, she's Mr. Blake's housekeeper, and he falls madly in love with her, right? And then she dies.
  Dickie:   Wait. She DIE-dies? I thought this was a happy movie.
  
  
• Seven Girlfriends
  Roman:   Or maybe I should take you out to dinner tonight.
  Hannah:   DINNER-dinner?
  Roman:   Yeah.
  
  
• Joan of Arcadia
  Although Luke did this awesome dive off the high board, which wasn't really a DIVE-dive, it was more like Will Farrell falling out of a plane.
  
  
• The Big Bang Theory
  Physics PhD:  She's a doctor.
  Neighbour:  A DOCTOR-doctor, or a you kind of doctor?
  
  
• Take Charley, for example. He has always associated with the learned, the gentle, the literate, and the reasonable both in France and in America. And Charley is no more like a DOG-dog than he is like a cat. His perceptions are sharp and delicate and he is a mind-reader. I don't know that he can read the thoughts of other dogs, but he can read mine.
  John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley; 1961; p. 98 of Bantam edition
  [NLLT example: 3e]
  
  
• The Simpsons
  Marge:   Actually, we're done.
  Bart:   DONE-done.
  [NLLT example: 36e]
  
  
• Grace Under Fire
  My door is always open for you.
  ...
  I don't mean my DOOR-door. I mean my metaphorical door. As in "door to my heart", "door to the community"...
  
  
• Would you like some wine? Would you like a DRINK-drink?
  
  
• Do you want coffee or a DRINK-drink?
  ["exclusive or" intonation]
  
  
• Duct Tape Forever
  Stiles:   Let's have a drink to toast your new life, Harold.
  [Stiles begins filling Harold's glass from a metal flask.]
  Harold:   Oh, a DRINK-drink.
  [Later...]
  Harold:   It was a DRINK-drink.
  [Harold passes out.]
  
  
• Joan of Arcadia
  Joan:   I'm kind of worried about him.
  Sylvia:   Why?
  Joan:   He seems to think that he's dying.
  Sylvia:   He is dying.
  Joan:   You mean, like, DYING-dying?
  Sylvia:   There's another kind?
  
  
• Larry Summers is not just an economist but, as one of his critics put it, an ECONOMIST-economist.
  New York Times, August 24, 2003, page 32
  
  
• We sat there, day and night, trading places, Beth and I, with Toph downstairs usually, Beth and I sitting, sleeping there, sometimes draped over her, waiting for the near-end, so we could gather and then wait for the END-end.
  Dave Eggers, "The Orphans are Coming!" The New Yorker, 18&25/10/99
  
  
• Everybody Loves Raymond
  [Robert tells his conservative mother- and father-in-law that they'll be sleeping in Robert's and his wife's room.]
  Robert:  We have a wonderful bed. I think you'll enjoy it. Not ENJOY-enjoy. Sleep. Enjoyable sleep.
  
  
• Neon Rider
  Hey kid, thanks for the escort. [looks embarrassed] I don't mean ESCORT-escort.
  
  
• Angel
  Kate:   The evil thing wasn't an evil thing?
  Angel:   Well, it was an evil thing in terms of that world. It just wasn't an EVIL-evil thing.
  Kate:   There are not-evil evil things?
  [later]
  Angel:   You okay? [Kate is trying not to cry] Never trust an EVIL-evil thing.
  
  
• Dick
  Kissinger:   That's OK. I'm familiar with these young ladies. Well, I'm not FAMILIAR-familiar... I know them.
  [NLLT example: 66b]
  
  
• There's a guy who collects fans. These are not sports fans but FANS-fans
  CBC radio
  [NLLT example: 32a]
  
  
• As the World Turns
  Barbara:   Me, too. How would you feel if I managed to cook your favorite dinner?
  Will:   My FAVORITE-favorite?
  Barbara:   FAVORITE-favorite.
  
  
• Seinfeld
  Jerry:   Who, who, who do you think would win in a fight between me and ah, gorgeous George here.
  Elaine:   You mean in a real FIGHT-fight?
  
  
• The FINAL-final copy has to be done by August.
  
  
• We have a FIREPLACE-fireplace in the living room.
  [as opposed to the bricked-up fireplace in the speaker's kitchen]
  [NLLT example: 38b]
  
  
• Q
  You lost me a bit with the pan-flute. ... I guess it was a FLUTE-flute.
  
  
• A:   Do they have food over there?
  B:   Sure, they've got chocolate over there but not real FOOD-food.
  
  
• Is he French or FRENCH-French?
  [French-from-France as opposed to French-from-Canada]
  [NLLT example: 1c]
  
  
• The Five Senses
  Police officer:   Any children?
  Suspect:   Yes. One. She lives with her mother.
  Police officer:   You're French?
  Suspect:   Yes.
  Police officer:   FRENCH-French?
  Suspect:   FRENCH-French. From Belgium, originally.
  Police officer:   Why'd you leave France?
  Suspect:   I wanted a change. I thought I'd like the winters.
  
  
• Felicity
  Julie:   Because I had boyfriends. Lots of them in high school. But for reasons too complicated and too big for this subway car, I, um, didn't have a lot of FRIEND-friends. Girlfriends.
  [NLLT example: 31f]
  
  
• Doonesbury
  So I would say that the president and Mr. DeLay are friends, but not FRIENDS-friends, if you will.
  
  
• All My Children
  Bianca:   Frankie was who she was. And I was in love with her. But you and I are just friends.
  Maggie:   Oh, so now I'm -- now I've been downgraded to "just friend."
  Bianca:   No, FRIENDS-friends -- real friends. That's -- that's huge. Maggie, it's better this way.
  
  
• Snakes and Ladders
  And he's funny. FUNNY-Funny, not jokey-funny.
  
  
• Gilmore Girls
  Lorelai:  Life is a funny funny thing huh?
  Sookie:   Yeah, I love that Jim Carey.
  Lorelai:  What?
  Sookie:   Jim Carey. He's just -- he's just funny.
  Lorelai:  He is funny, but I don't mean FUNNY-funny. I'm being philosophical.
  Sookie:   Oh, very serious face -- Jean Paul Sartre [making a somber face]
  
  
• I Heart Huckabees
  A:   Right. Well, when we did the Garth benefit in Dallas, we put the $10,000 donors up here.
  B:   Wow, Garth. Was that GARTH-Garth, or Chris Garth?
  A:   That's classic Garth. The best.
  
  
• A:   That's gay.
  B:   Is that happy-gay or GAY-gay?
  [There is no real lexical ambiguity here anymore. The line is just being used for laughs.]
  
  
• Virtual Sexuality
  Justine/Jake:   Geeky's good. Geeky's very trendy...
  Chas:   There's cool-geeky and there's GEEKY-geeky. I'm only ever going to be GEEKY-geeky.
  [NLLT example: 36f]
  
  
• Euro-trip
  A:  She makes every girl from our high school look like a walrus.
  B:  I'm a girl.
  A:  No, I mean GIRL-girls
  
  
• Boys Don't Cry
  Lana:   What were you like before all this? Were you like me? Like a GIRL-girl?
  Brandon:   Yeah. Like a long time ago. And then I guess I was just like a boy-girl. And then I was just a jerk.
  
  
• ... and here are the GLOVE-gloves.
  [real boxing gloves as opposed to "bag" gloves (smallish practice gloves)]
  [NLLT example: 26]
  [NLLT example: 31a]
  
  
• E. Lockhart, The Boyfriend List, Delacorte Press, 2005, p 193
  "And, um, I--can we go somewhere?" ...
  ...
  "I don't mean GO SOMEWHERE-go somewhere," I said, remembering that he surely thought I was a slut, and after all, last time the two of us had been alone we'd been all over each other. "I mean, outside on the steps."
  
  
• Stargate
  A:   So then who's coming through the Stargate?
  B:   Gods.
  A:   Huh?
  B:   Not as in GOD-God. Ra played a god, the sun god.
  [NLLT example: 8]
  
  
• Everwood
  Dr. Brown:   Oh, it's nothing. It's no thing. I told Tom Keyes I would go with him to a singles mixer.
  Nina:   Oh, that's, um, uh...
  Dr. Brown:   That's, uh, what?
  Nina:   That's good. I'm glad the two of you are hanging out. He's a good influence on you.
  Dr. Brown:   He's not influencing anything. I'm not even really going. I mean, I'm going but I'm not GOING-going.
  Nina:   Ah.
  Dr. Brown:   Can I go now?
  Nina:   GO-go, or just GO-go?
  
  
• As the World Turns
  Rosanna:   Annual event? Well, how about you skip it this year and join me for a ride in a vintage Cabot Grande Deluxe? If you're good, I'll let you drive.
  Craig:   GOOD-good or bad good?
  
  
• ... GREEN-TEA-green-tea...
  [in the context of drinking green tea with rice in it]
  [NLLT example: 38d]
  
  
• "I'm definitely reclaiming the feminine aspect of masculinity," [Gregory] Scratch explained. But he's also clearly equally keen to juice up the feminine cliches of domesticity with a jolt of testosterone. Those seductively macho paint jobs aren't meant purely as irony: "I'm probably as GUY-guy as a guy gets....I've got sideburns and I love muscle cars."
  [from an article on art produced by male artists based on the former domestic domain of women ]
  Blake Gopnik, The Globe and Mail, 25/03/00
  
  
• Six Days, Seven Nights
  (1998 movie starring Anne Heche (as Robin Munroe) and Harrison Ford (as Quinn Harris)) [The two characters have just realized that they are shipwrecked on a deserted island.]
  Robin:   Aren't you one of those guys?
  Quinn:   What guys?
  Robin:   Those GUY-guys, y'know? Those guys with skills?
  Quinn:   Skills?
  Robin:   Yeah, you send them out into the wilderness with a pocket knife and a Q-tip and they build you a shopping mall. You can't do that?
  [NLLT example: 31g]
  
  
• [after using the word "guys" generically]
  Nicholas Campbell:   Sorry. I don't mean just mean men. I mean guys of both sexes.
  Shelagh Rogers:   GUYS-Guys.
  Sounds Like Canada, November 20, 2003
  
  
• Guiding Light
  Marah:   They are moving into Ross and Blake's old place, and Remy's going to be there, too.
  Reva:   Three guys and you?
  Marah:   Well, they're not like GUYS-guys. They're more like brothers.
  
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  Willow:   Okay. Now, he's had his 2:00 feeding, and, uh, after sunrise, if he forgets where his clothes are, they're on top of the file cabinet in his cage. [indicates the cage] I put those towels up for privacy.
  Xander:   Uh, no worries. I can handle the Oz Full Monty. I mean, not HANDLE-handle, like "hands to flesh" handle.
  
  
• Red Dwarf
  [on a confused situation caused by time travel]
  Hey, it hasn't happened, has it? It has will-have-going-to-have-happened happened. But it hasn't actually HAPPENED-happened yet... actually.
  [NLLT example: 32c]
  
  
• Enough
  A:   What are you reading now?
  Slim:  You know Finnegans Wake by James Joyce? My friend told me it's the hardest book in the English language. I mean, not the HARDEST-hardest, but the hardest one that you can actually read. I thought to myself, if I can get through it, I could probably read the rest.
  [NLLT example: 63b]
  
  
• Should I wear a HAT-hat?
  [as opposed to a yarmulke]
  [NLLT example: 3d]
  
  
• Firefly
  Reverend Book:  I wish I could help. I mean, I don't wanna help -- not HELP-help, but -- not with the theiving, but -- I do feel awfully useless.
  
  
• Is he HERE-here or elsewhere-here?
  [after being told that a guest speaker from out of town is "here"]
  
  
• It is part of the HIGHWAY-highway, not the information highway.
  [referring to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in comparison with communication/software companies]
  Malcolm Gladwell, "Clicks & Mortar", The New Yorker, 6/12/99
  [NLLT example: 84a]
  
  
• Arrested Development
  George Michael:   So you think he's gonna announce it on the boat?
  Michael:   Yeah, absolutely. It's his retirement party. Plus, he's been dropping a lot of hints.
  George Michael:   What kind of hints?
  Michael:   It's funny. It's not a HINT-hint, but he has been calling me "pardner".
  
  
• Is it biblical history or HISTORY-history?
  Michael Enright, host on national CBC radio show, March 2000
  
  
• Port Charles
  Kevin: Hives!
  Lucy: Who?
  Kevin: I -- I'm breaking out in hives!
  Lucy: Hives? You mean -- you mean hives?
  Kevin: Yes!
  Lucy: Wait, like HIVE-hives?
  Kevin: Yes!
  
  
• ... things have got so bad that I decide to go home... HOME-home, Mum and Dad home, congealing gravy and Songs of Praise home.
  Nick Hornby, High Fidelity
  
  
• Gilmore Girls
  Lorelai:  Ugh. I couldn't stay where I am if I wanted. Mia is selling the inn. And that hit me hard too, maybe harder than the other thing. I'm gonna be without a home.
  Luke:   What do you mean? This is your home.
  Lorelai:  No, I mean a HOME-home. A memory home. The inn is where Rory took her first step. It's where I took my first step. It's more of a home to me more than my parents' house ever was.
  
  
• Guiding Light
  Cassie:   No, it's just these houses that we're picking. We're picking them because they have large rooms for parties...
  Richard:   Right.
  Cassie:   You know, diplomats can be shuffled in and out, security precautions.
  Richard:   These are all necessary concerns, darling.
  Cassie:   I know that, for an ambassador's residence, but not for a HOME-home. I just really want a home, Richard. I want to be able to walk around in my bathrobe and not have to worry about it. I want the kids to be able to leave their toys all over the place, not worrying about some prime minister slipping on it.
  
  
• Port Charles
  Livvie:   Then what's the problem? The falls are really beautiful this time of year, and we can cross over to Toronto. I took out plenty of cash.
  Rafe:   OK, don't get me wrong. The getting married part -- that's what we both want. But leaving town?
  Livvie:   Why not? I mean, I only lived here a few years. It's not my HOME-home, and it's not really your home, either.
  
  
• You like it HOT-hot, eh? You like it really hot?
  [talking about the weather]
  
  
• Veronica Mars
  [A teenager throwing a party greets some guests.]
  This isn't actually my HOUSE-house. It's one of the model homes in my old man's cheesy new subdivision.
  
  
• 'My eyes are old and tired, my neurons weary of the cool logic of AI analysis -- indulge me.'
  'INDULGE-ME-indulge-me, or you're busted fool, now indulge me?'
  'That kind of thing.'
  Justina Robson, Keeping It Real, Gollancz, 2006, p. 90
  
  
• Home Improvement
  Felix:   Tim! I'd be careful. That's instant glue you're using.
  Tim:   It's not like INSTANT-instant.
  [Tim's hand gets stuck to the inside of the tank. Tim pulls at his hand but can't get it free. The phone starts to ring. Tim looks to Felix.]
  [NLLT example: 66a]
  
  
• Ally McBeal
  GT:   Not INTERESTED-interested, like I'm interested in pursuing something interesting, but... It was fun being in your company again, and.. Ally figured I was setting the two of you up for my own...
  
  
• Love Don't Cost a Thing
  A:   You know, if they catch you staring like that, they're gonna send the jocks down here to kick our asses.
  B:   No, they won't. We're invisible.
  C:   Invisible?
  B:   Not INVISIBLE-invisible. Just invisible to them.
  
  
• Caroline in the City
  Caroline:   Look, when I saw Julia and Richard together, I was jealous. Not jealous like "Hey, they could be a couple and I'm not seeing anyone" jealous, but JEALOUS-jealous, you know what I mean?
  Del:   Yeah, JEALOUS-jealous.
  Caroline:   Exactly!
  
  
• I had a JOB-job once.
  [as opposed to an academic job]
  [NLLT example: 3f]
  
  
• When a Man Loves a Woman
  [A pilot is trying to explain to his daughter why his job is threatened. ]
  Father:   They're trying to bring in kids.
  Daughter:   Kids can't fly planes.
  Father:   Not KID-kids, men-kids.
  [NLLT example: 31h]
  
  
• Sounds Like Canada
  [interview about divorce counselling]
  In many of these situations, you're not just dealing with KIDS-kids, you're dealing with adult kids.
  
  
• Just a Little Harmless Sex
  A:   He kissed me.
  B:   A KISS-kiss?
  
  
• The Hot Chick
  A:  When was the last time you kissed her?
  B:  You mean kiss her, or KISS-HER-kiss-her?
  
  
• I mean, I know him, but I don't KNOW-HIM-know-him.
  [him reduced to a syllabic [m]]
  [NLLT example: 41c]
  
  
• I Really Hate My Job
  Abi:  He's Danny Huston. I mean, what is not to love?
  Alice:  I don't know him.
  Abi:  People don't love movie stars because they KNOW-THEM-know-them.
  
  
• The Hour
  Julie Benz:  And I go over and I give this man a big, giant bear-hug, and I'm like, "Oh my God, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you since..." And I realize I don't know him. And it's Matthew McConaughey. And he's hugging me right back. And I'm like, "Oh my God, I don't know you. I mean, I know you, but I don't KNOW-YOU-know-you like I thought I knew you."
  
  
• The Sixth Man
  Kenny:   Nothing, just loosening up. Doing a little bit of kong-chi.
  A:   Kong-chi?
  B:   What the hell does kong-chi mean, huh?
  Antoine:   Yeah. What the hell does kong-chi mean?
  Kenny:   Kong-chi!
  Antoine:   Huh?
  Kenny:   You know, KONG-CHI-kong-chi. It's an ancient oriental artform of loosening up.
  [NLLT example: 18b]
  
  
• The Family Guy
  A:   I'm late, Lois.
  B:   Well if you didn't spend so much time on your hair...
  A:   No, I mean LATE-late!
  [NLLT example: 16]
  
  
• Will and Grace
  Will:   Yeah, well, I'll--I'll wait. I'm gonna wait.
  Grace:   No. Eat without me. I'm gonna be LATE-late.
  Will:   LATE-late? Why, why, why, why, why?
  
  
• Dawson's Creek
  Audrey:   Joey? Did you check out the leak in the bathroom?
  Joey:   What leak?
  [Joey suddenly realizes Audrey is trying to get her alone for a conversation and plays along.]
  Joey:   The LEAK-leak!
  [Audrey drags Joey into the bathroom.]
  [NLLT example: 18a]
  
  
• Are you LEAVING-leaving?
  [as opposed to just stepping out for a moment]
  [NLLT example: 4a]
  
  
• News Radio
  Dave:   You're leaving the station?
  Lisa:   No. No. I'm not LEAVING-leaving.
  [NLLT example: 32e]
  
  
• All My Children
  Ryan:   Why's your stuff on the bed? You leaving?
  Kendall:   Yeah. And I want to thank you for letting me stay here as long as you did. I mean, I really -- never mind.
  Ryan:   So, like, you're LEAVING-leaving? Leaving town?
  Kendall:   No such luck.
  
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  Tara:   Oh! No, I-I said that all wrong. It was nothing. Willow and Anya were sort of fighting, and then Xander kind of snapped at both of them and he left.
  Buffy:   [alarmed] He left? Xander left Anya?
  Tara:   [frowning] Ummm ... no, not LEFT-HER-left-her, he just left. It was only a little thing, it--
  
  
• I've actually thought about doing more LETTER-letter writing.
  [as opposed to e-mail]
  
  
• All I Want
  Jane:   I want you to write me a letter.
  Jones:   A letter?
  Jane:   Yeah. Like the ones you write to your girlfriends. But just a LETTER-letter, not a love-letter.
  
  
• Dawson's Creek
  Joey:   So, in his own LIKE-like way, he was just freaked out because she liked him back.
  
  
• Seinfeld
  Voice:   Oh, I like Jerry a lot.
  Elaine: You mean LIKE-like?
  
  
• Daria
  Quinn:   David?
  David:   Yes?
  Quinn:   Um... I like you.
  David:   I like you, too.
  Quinn:   No, I mean I LIKE-like you.
  David:   Oh. Look...
  Quinn:   I mean, I never thought I could really LIKE-like someone who wasn't, you know, really cute -- not that you're uncute -- but you know what I mean. You don't try to be cute. Not that I would ever try to make you try to be cute.
  
  
• Friends
  [Ross is still bitter that Rachel has return a present he gave her to the store. A commercial for sunglasses comes on TV.]
  Rachel:   Ooh, I like those sunglasses.
  Ross:   LIKE-'EM-like-'em? Or, I'd-like-to-get-store-credit-for-that-amount like 'em?
  [NLLT example: 1b]
  [NLLT example: 41a]
  [NLLT example: 84c]
  
  
• Freaky Friday (2003)
  Listen, I feel really stupid. You know, it's just yesterday was freaky, and, I mean, I see your mom, and I like her. I mean, not LIKE-HER-like-her, but, you know, I mean, like her as your mom. Listen, do you think we could just rewind this whole thing and start again?
  
  
• Dawson's Creek
  Dawson:   Oh. I got something to tell you that I have a feeling will keep you awake. I like your sister, Pacey.
  Pacey:   You like her, or you LIKE-HER-like-her?
  
  
• Seinfeld
  Elaine: Ha hum... Do you like George?
  Paula: Yeah! He's cool.
  Elaine: No, I mean... Do you like him or do you LIKE-HIM-like-him?
  Paula: LIKE-like. Looks aren't important to me, you know?
  
  
• Dawson's Creek
  Mary Beth:   Look Dawson, you're a nice guy and I like you. Do I LIKE-YOU-like-you? No. You're a little too neurotic for that.
  [NLLT example: 41d]
  
  
• One Life to Live
  Todd:   All right, you listen to me now, and you listen -- like LISTEN-listen, OK? You don't redesign anything. So whatever you did, you put it back the way it was. You got that?
  [later]
  Gabrielle, you're not LISTENING-listening, OK? The only thing that I want you to redesign is your attitude. If you want keep that job, you don't do anything --
  
  
• Wonder Years
  Narrator:   Now, most people don't know this but there are two kinds of logic. There's LOGIC-logic and then there's 12-year-old-in-love logic.
  
  
• A:   He has long hair?
  B:   Not LONG-long hair.
  
  
• Love Liza
  [Denny is getting ready to leave a boat-racing competition after winning in the quarter-finals, but losing in the semi-finals.]
  Denny:   Do tennis players stay and watch other tennis players win?
  Wilson:   I don't know.
  Denny:   No, they don't. Losers leave.
  Wilson:   You didn't... LOSE-lose.
  Denny:   Wilson, I'm not in the finals, which means we don't have to drive in the dark.
  
  
• Forever Knight
  Dr. Joyce (on the TV):   Well, there are two kinds of love, Jerry. There's wellness love, which is good love, healthy love, LOVE-love.
  
  
• Arrested Development
  George Michael:   She loves Saddam Hussein.
  Michael:   I'm sure she doesn't love Saddam. I'm sure she is interested in him as a subject, you know.
  George Michael:   Right. That's what I meant.
  ...
  George Michael:   I kind of love her.
  Michael:   You mean, you love her like... like she loves Saddam. Right?
  George Michael:   No, no. I mean, like, LOVE-HER-love-her.
  
  
• Shooting Fish
  Dylan:   Don't think virgin Madonna, think MADONNA-Madonna.
  [giving dating tips to his friend, Jez]
  
  
• They just call him psycho-Marcus because they're trying to distinguish between him and MARCUS-Marcus and normal-Marcus.
  [NLLT example: 9b]
  
  
• Heights
  A:  I ran into Mark the other day.
  B:  MARK-Mark?
  
  
• Will and Grace
  Will:   Yeah. She's here, and she's married.
  Harlin:   Oh! Is she married like I'm married, or is she MARRIED-married?
  Will:   I think somewhere in the middle. Drink?
  
  
• Like many, I've fallen into an Internet romance -- many compelling e-mails and instant messages exchanged with an attractive, very sexual, captivating woman. ... She confesses to loving the literary me, but not the ME-me.
  letter to advice columnist Cary Tennis, salon.com, June 17, 2003
  
  
• Frasier
  Kate:   No, I am not going down that road again.
  Frasier:   'Course you're not. Because at the end of that road is a cul-de-sac of vulnerability. That's not you, is it? No, you're cement-hard.
  Kate:   [incredulous] "Cul-de-sac of vulnerability"? [fed-up] Alright, listen. You see me for a couple of hours out of every day, and you think you know me? The ME-me? Alright, I can be tough - okay, I've gotta be. I can also be tender. Spontaneous. Shy. Lusty. Playful.
  [NLLT example: 11b]
  
  
• Frasier
  Roz:   Hold on, Frasier. Cashmere for under 40 bucks? I'll take one in black. In medium. Wait, is that MEDIUM-medium or unrealistic-anorexic-model-medium?
  Mindy:   It sounds like you might want to go for the large.
  
  
• He needs MONEY-money?
  [one cashier to another regarding reimbursing in cash rather than by cheque]
  
  
• I considered my mother's stepmother a relative. I never knew my mother's MOTHER-mother.
  
  
• The Facts of Life
  [the headmaster introducing Mrs. Garrett to Blair Warner's mother ]
  Mrs. Garrett, Blair's housemother -- Mrs. Warner, Blair's MOTHER-mother.
  
  
• Days of Our Lives
  Sami:   You know, I've been thinking, um, maybe we should move.
  Austin:   Yeah, I mean, of course we're not going to keep two separate apartments.
  Sami:   No, I mean MOVE-move. I mean move out of Salem.
  
  
• Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail, November 26, 2004
  [start of review]
  During this pre-Christmas cinematic bang, when the multiplexes are bursting with animated fairy tales, event movies and bookish adaptations, you might find yourself with a craving for a real MOVIE-movie.
  [end of review]
  It must be admitted that, for a MOVIE-movie, Infernal Affairs is subversively arty.
  
  
• Made in Canada
  [The speakers are talking about a former colleague's recent lawsuit against them.]
  A:   That doesn't sound like Murray.
  B:   Remember that he joined that cult, the Spiritologists?
  A:   MURRAY-Murray!?
  [NLLT example: 10]
  
  
• [B is about to give a recital.]
  A:   Are you nervous?
  B:   Yeah, but, you know, not NERVOUS-nervous.
  [NLLT example: 4b]
  [NLLT example: 13]
  [NLLT example: 84b]
  
  
• Chillicothe
  [voice-over of a man thinking of all his friends' recent weddings]
  Kevin:   And it's weird, because I realized I was next. I mean, it's like I knew already. Well, I wasn't NEXT-next. That would be...
  [cut to scene of another friend's wedding]
  
  
• Little Mosque on the Prairie
  Amaar:  There's no budget for a new set.
  Yasir:  That is why I will build you one for nothing.
  Amaar:  NOTHING-Nothing, or Yasir-nothing?
  
  
• Caroline in the City
  Caroline:   I know, but I didn't think you meant NUTS-nuts. I thought you meant raisin nipple nuts. Oh my god, I mean, she was just so convincing! I feel like a fool!
  [get context -- SCRPT121.HTM]
  
  
• I think she's OLDER-older.
  [in reference to relative sibling ages]
  [NLLT example: 32d]
  
  
• She's like gonna go OUT-out tonight.
  [so just coming over to our house isn't going to suffice]
  
  
• Daria
  Brittany:   I've had it! Kevin and I are finally over for good!
  Angie:   Is it OVER-over, like the time he got you a football for your birthday, or just over, like the time he thought your goldfish needed air?
  Brittany:   No, this time it's really OVER-over. And as fellow cheerleaders, you have to swear on a stack of pompoms not to go to the dance with that two-timing, scum of the earth, Kevin.
  
  
• Sex and the City
  To some, pain implies growth. But how do we know when the growing pains stop and the PAIN-pains take over?
  [NLLT example: 31e]
  
  
• I want PAPER-paper, the-kind-you-can-write-on paper.
  [after being offered a newspaper]
  
  
• Felicity
  Elena:   Well, if it's alright with you, I made an executive decision to have a painting party on Friday.
  Noel:   A painting party?
  Elena:   Not a PARTY-party. Just hanging out. We'll get a few people in here to help get rid of this ugly wallpaper.
  
  
• The Bold and the Beautiful
  Kristen:   Honey, that's really sweet. But it's not really a PARTY-party. It's more of a small family get-together. So I think your friend might feel a little uncomfortable.
  
  
• Home Improvement
  Jill:   Anyway, it's at two o'clock on Saturday and a lot of people from work are gonna be there.
  Tim:   D'you mean a lot of PEOPLE-people, or a lot of women-people?
  [NLLT example: 33b]
  
  
• No, I need a PIN-pin.
  [in response to being handed a safety pin]
  
  
• Dawson's Creek
  Joey:   Strip poker. I leave you alone for 2 seconds, and you end up playing strip poker?
  Pacey:   Originally this was just POKER-poker, until I started kicking his ass. Then your friendly neighborhood co-worker decides to change the stakes on me, but I'm finished now, and, uh, we can just leave?
  
  
• [Jay Leno talking about drug-testing for prisoners]
  What if they fail the test? Do they go to PRISON-prison?
  The Tonight Show, May 4, 2000
  
  
• Joan of Arcadia
  [family in a family therapy session]
  Helen:   Well, this wasn't for our problems. This was to help the kids.
  Will:   Our problems affect the kids.
  Helen:   [to therapist]
  He doesn't mean PROBLEM-problems.
  
  
• We had a guest prof, and a guy in the class was opening an e-mail attachment that cranked the volume up, and there's a sound attachment that yells out "Hey everyone, I'm looking at porno!" and the PROF-prof was just shaking his head in shame.
  
  
• Roswell
  Michael:   OK. OK, sure. Me and you, tomorrow night, nothing but fun. I promise.
  Maria:   Do you really promise?
  Michael:   I PROMISE-promise.
  Maria:   Can I have a Snapple?
  
  
• Finding Amanda
  Rape? Raping you? Your father's brother RAPE-raped you?
  
  
• I talk about it in the book, but I don't tell what REALLY-really happened.
  [author of a book about alien abductions]
  [This one could be analyzed as just repeating the really, but it had exactly the same stress and rhythm as a CR, not the stress and rhythm of an ordinary repeated really. ]
  
  
• Customer:   Could I get a regular coffee, please?
  Employee:   REGULAR-regular?
  [at a trendy coffee shop with too many choices.]
  
  
• I could never be with a guy in a RELATIONSHIP-relationship.
  [NLLT example: 36a]
  
  
• Sounds Like Canada
  Shelagh Rogers:   Do you mean RELATIONSHIPS-relationships or just relationships?
  k.d. lang:   Oh, all sorts of relationships.
  
  
• Pumpkin
  Carolyn:  He's mentally retarded.
  Doctor:  You say retarded. Retarded's not a medical term. How retarded?
  Carolyn:  RETARDED-retarded.
  
  
• They are rich, of course; obscenely rich by the world's standards; but not RICH-rich, not New York City rich.
  Michael Cunningham, The Hours, Picador: New York. 1998, p. 91
  We'd like to thank Roland Pfau not only for sending us this example but for also looking up the relevant sentence in the more recently published German translation. It reads: "... aber nicht richtig reich, nicht nach den Maßstäben von New York City." (... but not really rich, not after the standards of NYC.) [NLLT example: 5a]
  
  
• Murder She Wrote
  [This mandatory end-of-the-show murder confession came from a real estate agent. ]
  You know what it's like, working with the rich all these years, not being rich ourselves - not RICH-rich.
  
  
• Frasier
  Frasier:   Niles is up here with Roz.
  Daphne:   Roz? You mean ROZ-Roz?
  
  
• Tim Horton's commercial
  [Some time after a coffee-shop customer tells an employee he's in a rush.]
  Employee:  You're still here?
  Customer:  It's not a RUSH-rush.
  
  
• I'll make the tuna salad and you make the SALAD-salad.
  [NLLT example: 1a]
  [NLLT example: 3a]
  
  
• Popular
  When can I see you?
  You are seeing me.
  I mean SEE-YOU-see-you.
  
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  Buffy:   I thought you were gonna go see Tara.
  Willow:   (unhappy) Saw her. Saw her completely.
  Buffy:   Ouch. Just got a scratch from all that brittle.
  Willow:   It's... when I was seeing her, she was seeing someone else. A girl.
  Buffy:   You mean--
  Willow:   I mean ... not SEEING-seeing. Well, maybe. I don't know, it was inconclusive, and I didn't stick around to find out. Might have magicked my fist through a wall or something.
  Buffy:   Will, I'm sorry.
  Willow:   I mean, they're probably just friends. [pouty] I press my lips against my friends' all the time.
  
  
• Totally SELF-self directed.
  newspaper ad for a self-directed Retirement Savings Plan
  [NLLT example: 40a]
  
  
• Felicity
  Friend:   You guys are getting pretty serious.
  Felicity:   No! I mean, not SERIOUS-serious.
  
  
• I'm not SICK-sick. It's just that I had surgery two weeks ago.
  [someone explaining over dinner at a restaurant why she has to choose from the menu carefully. Others in the group had been complaining about feeling under-the-weather.]
  
  
• Tripping the Rift
  A:   Have you considered a career in slaving?
  B:   Isn't that the same thing we did under the dark clowns?
  A:   Oh no, that was SLAVE-slaveing. This is wage-slaving.
  
  
• Daria
  Brittany:   Oh, Kevvy, I only kissed Robert to get even with you for kissing Zoe, it didn't mean anything, and now I know you do love me and you really mean it when you say smart doesn't matter, although I think I'm smarter than you think I am, although I know I'm not smarter than the really SMART-smart people, so I forgive you! Kevvy? Kevvy?
  
  
• Shooting Fish
  Jez:   I'm sorry.
  Dylan:   You're sorry or you're SORRY-sorry?
  Jez:   I'm SORRY-sorry.
  
  
• A special relationship or a SPECIAL-special relationship.
  [someone responding to a joking remark about the closeness of their relationship]
  
  
• American Pie
  Nadia:  Well. You have seen me. Now it is my turn to see you. Strip.
  Jim:  Strip?
  Nadia:  Yes, slowly.
  Jim:  You mean like, STRIP-strip?
  
  
• Gilmore Girls
  [Lorelai is acting distracted since Max asked her to marry him.]
  Lorelai:   I got stuff on my mind.
  Rory:   Max stuff?
  Lorelai:   No, STUFF-stuff.
  Rory:   You're lying.
  
  
• I like wind-surfing not SURF-surfing.
  [male, 70 years old]
  [NLLT example: 37]
  
  
• Host:   Was there anything really surprising in it?
  Interviewee:   Well, not SURPRISING-surprising.
  [Radio interview (NPR, Wichita) about the report of a study]
  [NLLT example: 36b]
  
  
• Wonderfalls
  But just because a scripture says God's talking doesn't mean he's TALK-talking. People tend to take license with that detail. It's not always gonna be, "Hello, Jaye."
  
  
• In fact I barely talked to him. Not TALK-talked.
  Alex Garland, The Beach
  [NLLT example: 31d]
  [NLLT example: 66c]
  
  
• I talked to him that week, but I didn't TALK-TO-HIM-talk-to-him.
  [speaker explaining why she hadn't broken some news to someone when she had said she would]
  [NLLT example: 42b]
  
  
• Sounds Like Canada
  Not in the TEMPLE-temple, but in a building next door to the temple, but still on temple grounds.
  
  
• And it's there. Not just out there, but THERE-there.
  [on the pressures contributing to obesity]
  Shelagh Rogers, Sounds Like Canada, November 12, 2003
  
  
• E. Lockhart, The Boyfriend List, Delacorte Press, 2005, pp 36-37
  "...It was dead in there and his boss was off, so he came and sat with me." Kim looked down at her lap.
  "Was it a thing?" I asked.
  "Yeah," she said. "I think it was a thing."
  "What kind of thing?" Cricket wanted to know.
  "A THING-thing."
  "A THING-thing? You mean, really?"
  "Maybe."
  "Well, was it, or wasn't it?"
  "Okay, it was. It was definitely a THING-thing."
  "Wait a minute," I said. "Are you saying there was kissing?"
  Kim looked at the sky. "I'm not saying there wasn't."
  "You kissed Finn Murphy?" squealed Cricket.
  "Cricket!"
  "Kanga had a THING-thing/kissing thing with Finn Murphy yesterday afternoon and we're only hearing about it now?" Cricket sounded outraged.
  "I had a lot of homework," said Kim.
  "That's no excuse. You could have e-mailed us, at least," said Cricket. "You are shockingly out of line, young lady. THING-things with stud-muffins that no one else knows about? What is the world coming to?"
  "Wait!" I held up my hand. "It's only a real and true THING-thing if the kissing was good."
  
  
• Felicity
  Noel:   So you...you and Ben are together?
  Julie:   Yes.
  Noel:   Good for you.
  Julie:   We're not...we're not TOGETHER-together. We're just...we're hanging out. A lot.
  
  
• Wonder Years
  Becky:   Supposedly, Susan thought she saw John and Gina together, you know, like together. But they weren't TOGETHER-together, they were just studying together. But Susan might break up anyway.
  
  
• Angel
  Anita:   But you are together.
  Groo:   [putting a hand on Angel's shoulder] Yes! Two champions here together.
  Angel:   [pushing Groo's hand off] Not TOGETHER-together. Just "get the potion" together.
  
  
• As the World Turns
  Abigail:   Bryant saw Jennifer and his cousin together.
  Nick:   TOGETHER-together?
  Abigail:   Yeah, and he found out that Adam and I knew all about it.
  
  
• Days of Our Lives
  Chloe:   It's not like Philip and I are TOGETHER-together, it's -- we're just hanging out, seeing how things go.
  
  
• One Life to Live
  Blair:   He's very lucky to have you in his life, Nora. Especially now.
  Nora:   I'm hardly in his life at the moment.
  Blair:   I know that you guys aren't TOGETHER-together, but when I walked in here just now, it's obvious that you still care about him. I'm right to say that? I mean, you do still care about Sam, right?
  
  
• [At the last meeting before summer break of a committee whose minutes have to be approved in order to be legally binding]
  Chair:   We should approve tonight's minutes.
  Secretary:   We just did. [pointing to the just-approved minutes of the previous meeting]
  Chair:   No, TONIGHT'S-tonight's minutes.
  [I.e., we should pre-approve the minutes of the current meeting before they're written.]
  [NLLT example: 32f]
  
  
• Dawson's Creek
  Advisor:   That can work to your advantage. Elite schools are generally looking for people with diverse backgrounds. You're at the top of your class, Joey.
  Joey:   The TOP-top?
  Advisor:   Number 4, and your board scores are phenomenal. I think that you should be able to get into practically any place in the country.
  
  
• Dawson's Creek
  Jen:   What do you want me to say?
  Dawson:   The truth.
  Jen:   OK, the TRUTH-truth, or the what-Dawson-wants-to-hear truth?
  
  
• As the World Turns
  Rosanna:   I like the sound of that. Even though I know I would be a fool to believe every word you say.
  Craig:   Baby [kisses Rosanna] -- baby -- but there was truth in that.
  Rosanna:   TRUTH-truth, or convenient-in-the-moment truth?
  Craig:   What's the difference?
  
  
• The Simpsons
  A:   You said you wanted "gritty", that means ugly.
  B:   Marianne-of-Gilligan's-Island ugly, not Cornelius-of-Planet-of-the-Apes ugly. TV ugly, not UGLY-ugly.
  [The actor in question, overhearing this, says afterwards something like "I've been called ugly before, but I've never been called UGLY-ugly!"]
  
  
• [A phones B early in the morning.]
  A:   Sorry. Did I get you up?
  B:   I'm up, I'm just not UP-up.
  [NLLT example: 1d]
  
  
• No, I didn't get UP-up.
  [someone experiencing temporary insomnia responding to concern.]
  
  
• Once and Again
  Lily:   You have to get up.
  Rick:   I am up.
  Lily:   I mean UP-up.
  [NLLT example: 4c]
  
  
• Look at all the yellow vans on the road. Not vans like ours [i.e., minivans], but VAN-vans.
  [NLLT example: 3b]
  [NLLT example: 31c]
  
  
• M*A*S*H
  Henry Blake:   Look, folks. You've picked a very busy spot. The war comes through here. Well, not war in your war-fighting sense, but rather in your aftermath sense, which is still WAR-war.
  
  
• The Critic
  Dressmaker:   Here's the skinny. We dressmakers have a very strict code, so I need to know, do you deserve to wear virginal white? Because if you don't, you'll have to wear an off-white, what we call a hussy white. So which will it be, WHITE-white?
  Margo:   Yes. Um... except for the gloves.
  
  
• She's a WIFE-wife.
  [meaning "stay-at-home, subordinate-your-career-to-your-man wife" (German native speaker) ]
  
  
• Frasier
  Caller:   Dr Crane? It's Woody. I'm in Seattle and I'm a little lost.
  Frasier:   Well Woody, in today's fast paced, high pressure society that's not uncommon. Just why exactly do you feel lost?
  Caller:   Well, I've been driving around for about an hour, I can't seem to get out of the airport.
  Frasier:   [the penny drops] Oh, WOODY-Woody. Oh well, listeners, this is an old friend of mine from back in Boston. Well, how you doin' there, you old cowpoke?
  
  
• Wednesday is my WORK-work day.
  [stay-at-home mother explaining that since her ex has the kids from Tuesday night till after school Wednesday, this is the day she gets all the housework, laundry, gardening done]
  [NLLT example: 40b]
  
  
• Charmed
  Phoebe:   Are you moving out?
  Paige:   No, just cleaning out.
  Piper:   Your art supplies?
  Paige:   Well, between witch work and WORK-work, I just don't have any time any more.
  
  
• Guiding Light
  Buzz:   [stammers] No, I mean, you know, it's like labor for you in the gulag. I wouldn't want to make it worse.
  Marina:   No, I mean, I don't mind, like, giving you a hand if you need one. I mean, it could be different from the whole punishment thing. You know, like actual WORK-work.
  Buzz:   Are you asking me for a job?
  
  
• Charmed
  Phoebe:   Grams, it's a boy. Look at the outfit.
  Grams:   What?
  Paige:   You didn't know?
  Grams:   Well, no, I--I mean, I just assumed it was a -- what went wrong?
  Leo:   Wrong?
  [Grams turns around to look at Leo. She immediately tries to cover her insult.]
  Grams:   Oh, well, I--I don't mean WRONG-wrong, it's just that we've always had...girls.
  Piper:   Now we have a boy.
  
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  Giles:   I'm afraid he was, he was, um, terribly mauled. Now, uh, much as I hate to think it, i-i-it could be the handiwork of, of...
  Oz (a werewolf):   Me.
  Willow:   Wolf you, not YOU-you.
  Xander: But it's not. Not wolf you, not YOU-you.
  
  
• Chances Are
  A:   Is it me?
  B:   No, it's not you ... I mean, yes it's you but it's not YOU-you.
  
  
• Virtual Sexuality
  [A freak computer accident has transformed Justine into a man named Jake.]
  Chas:   Fran's been asking after you.
  Justine/Jake:   She's obviously getting frantic.
  Chas:   No, you. YOU-you, not the other you, not Justine.
  Justine/Jake:   Fran's been asking about Jake?
  
  
• "The Bean Bean"
  [heading found after a description of many different types of beans]
  Patrick Lima, The Kitchen Garden, Toronto: Key Porter, 1992, p. 96
  thanks to David Heap for this example
  

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