Many Hans make light work.
Of course, this is an old Dutch proverb that dates back to at least 1937 when the music hall comedian Cheerful Charlie Corona had them rocking in the aisles of Alhambra theatres the length and breadth of London and the Home Counties.
How they shook with laughter at the ingenuity of the word play. Don’t get it? Well, let’s go through it word by word.
Many – lots.
Hans – now, here’s the kicker, the pun if you will. It’s meant to be hands, as in those things at the end of your arms. But, said with a certain intonation, hands with a hard D at the end can also be said as Hans, without the hard D.
Are you still following?
So now we have a Dutchman. Make light work – here’s another rib-tickling twist. Step forward Doddy – Ken Dodd. Make light work can refer to a light bulb, illuminating a room. It takes a certain amount of knowledge to screw a light bulb in and to find the switch to turn it on. But because foreigners are always funny and a bit dim it takes many Dutchmen to perform this task that any Englishman would take in his stride.
Also, many hands – with the hard D again means many people all working together can get a task done quickly and efficiently.
But there aren’t many laughs in that.
So, the comedians stuck with the Dutchman Hans. What a hoot!
And they wonder why music hall died.
Words: Richard Rooney
Illustration: A.I.
Flash Fiction 250
Flash Fiction 250 