5 colonnes à la une

[dahac]

Hi guys,
I was reading Iznogoud and there was this part where Iznogoud and Dilat Laraht got stranded in a desert. Then Dilat Laraht said to him
"J'aurais cru que vous alliez dire quelque chose du genre : 5 colonnes à la dune ou :et dune"
I think "5 colonnes à la dune " is a pun of the magazine "5 colonnes à la une".
So, I'm not quite sure what "5 colonnes à la une" means. I guess it's something like "5 lines on the font page", but that still doesn't make much sense to me.
And I don't understand the second part of the pun. "Et dune" is probably a word play on "et d'une"? What does it mean?
Thanks in advance

 

[SwissPete]

Cinq colonnes à la dune is probably a weak play on words if they are stranded in the desert. Deserts have sand dunes. Just guessing.

 

[dahac]

So it's not the word play on "Cinq colonnes à la une"?

 

[Philippides]

Dilat Laraht suggests indeed 2 possible word plays :
- 5 colonnes à la dune / 5 colonnes à la une
- et dune / et d'une !

As for the expression "5 colonnes à la une"., it is well known because it was the name of a very famous TV magazine in the 50's 60's, but the origine comes from the newspapers. They are traditionnally organized in columns, and the text is written in columns (see this image for example). The typical number being 5. If you want to emphasize a title, the you write it over many columns, giving all 5 columns if the subject is of paramount importance.

 

[dahac]

Thanks a lot for your explanation!
How about "et d'une"? Does it have any significant meaning, or it's just "and one"

 

[Philippides]

Oui, on peut parfois compter "et d'une, et de deux, et de trois".
Le mieux serait que tu crées un fil dédié à cette question, tu auras sûrement de meilleurs explications sur cette construction