who's on first

Definitions

A situation in which confusion arises due to homophones and similar misunderstandings.

Examples

“This pride of sponsorship, rather than pride of rating, seems to have⟳ been lost in the welter of decimal points and who's-on-firsts.”

“With that, you'll know⟳ she knows how you feel⟳ — which relieves you of the supposed-tos, the what-ifs, the what's-my-moves and the who's-on-firsts, and frees you just to see⟳ how it all turns out.”

““Goddess, Mistress. I'm sorry, Mistress.” I felt a who's-on-first moment coming on.”

“But Rose interprets the remark⟳ as a statement that the girl is having a party herself, which leads to a “Who's on first?” comedy of errors.”

“This 'who's on first' conversation continued, both of us getting more and more frustrated than the other, until it hit me.”

“(The Japanese car model⟳ is a Sosumi, as we learn⟳ in a Who's on First? comic exchange⟳; Gribble recently dealt with a case involving an Isuyu.)”

CEFR level