Help me, Will

[Joe Varo]

On Tue, 1 Apr 1997, Steven Maas (CUTR) wrote:

> On Tue, 1 Apr 1997 andrew at cee.hw.ac.uk wrote:
> > I don't understand the preceding fragment
> > 
> >     the Children, having all upon the Fly, among rhythmic slaps of
> >     Batter and Spoon, coax'd and stolen what they might, proceed, as
> >     upon each afternoon all this snowy Winter, to a comfortable
> > 
> > What exactly is that Fly doing?
> 
> I think that that Fly works as in the phrase "he did it on the fly," 
> meaning did it quickly without a lot of forethought or planning. Maybe
> this is only US slang, not used in the Mother Tongue?
> 
> But I'm confused about that "slaps of Batter."  I understand the "slaps of
> Spoon" but why would an annoyed cook slap with batter?  and why are the
> slaps rhythmic?

I understood this as the children in a room with a cook who is stirring up
a bowl of some kind of batter, giving you the rhythmic "slapping" sounds
of the batter being stirred by/with the spoon.

> 
> (This isn't Dkipen's own April Fool's Day joke is it?)
> 

Now that would be funny.

Joe
Ain't got a clue as to the altered word