For the squeamish, no, it’s not that bad. It really means playing with words. Any excuse for a pun.
We all know that we grow up thinking that everyone lives like our family does. At some point or other, we realise that not everyone does, which can be a bit of a surprise.
In my family, playing with words goes on to what others may see as a dangerous degree. There is repetition of phrases from comedy shows (The Goons being a particularly frequent source).
Repetition of childhood words and phrases for things – not just mine or my brother’s, but going back to my parents’, or even their brothers’. Literal pronunciation of words that are actually said differently, or puns with similar sounding words where we can possibly fit them in.
After over seven years, Dan has come on well in this area. He can play word association games with the best of them. He also beats me at Scrabble (this is not so surprising, given that he knows how to play strategically and I just like to make nice words).
The further gain is that now we have taken on each others’ families’ phrases, those of our friends’ children…So send yours on, and I’m sure we’ll find a place to incorporate them.