What's up? - The sky is up.

[lady_ashley]

Hi,
I'm translating a piece from Joyce's "A portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", and here's one dialogue from the text:

- What's up? (the speaker means, What has happened to the boy?)
- The sky is up. (the reply is a retort).

My question is: is it Joyce's original play on words or is it a more or less tyical way of answering [banal] questions? (Like, "Why? - Because!"). I need to know whether to preserve the pun or use a typical Russian answer.

Thanks a lot!

 

[katie_here]

I would say its a typical way of answering a banal question. It's a typical answer when someone doesn't want to answer the question.

 

[ewie]

Hi ~ Katie's right: it's a banal very old very unfunny joke. Other examples:

Hey!
What horses eat.

Dang! ~ I can't remember any more

 

[lady_ashley]

Thanks a lot, you have been helpful.