'Twirlies' is the name given to pensioners by Liverpool bus crews. Their free bus passes become effective at 9am but if they arrive before this, they enquire 'Are we too early?'
Pure rubbish "A deviant or strange use of language may be highly effective and widely appreciated - as in any art form." (Crystal, David. 2003, Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language p.395)
Taking nonsense to extremes comedians and authors, including Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, have long explored the potential of stretching the language until it goes tweoink. Although perhaps less prevalent in contemporary comedy, there was almost a 'golden age' of nonsense comedians, with Spike Milligan and 'Professor' Stanley Unwin becoming popular from the 1950s onwards. 'Professor' Stanley Unwin, could perhaps be construed as becoming the only professional nonsense speaker, making a career out of speaking his own language, 'Unwinese'. He developed his language after hearing his mother telling him she had 'falloloped over'. "There's no such verb to 'fallolop'", was Stanley's initial response, "There is" she said, "I've just done it!"Remaining deadpan throughout, he would deliver his nonsense in a normal conversational style, looking completely comfortable with his unique style of speech. And yet somehow you can still understand what he is on about.
Charlie Chuck (also known as Uncle Peter from The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer BBC television programme) had a similar inspiration from maternal silliness:
TRANSCRIPT (excerpt) "Eenie meenie macka lacka air i dumb a lacka in chin chon a lacka rom pom post, eyrie eyrie chick a lacka eyrie oo nee colnee ala bottla whisky Chinese chung. I won't stand such diabolical insolence from an incompoculous piece of crunch such as you! If it wasn't for the inconvenience of taking off my fur-lined (glove), I'd slap you across the face with a banana skin. Come on fido". And she used to teach me gibberish like this y'see, me Mam."Check the stick-work on that.Further reading Language Play by David Crystal
