That old oyster-egg joke

Waiting in the queue for a drag lift in a Pyrenean station, I saw a chalk-board on which the following had been written:

C’est quoi la moitié de dix huitres? Un oeuf.

Baffled, I turned to the skier behind me and asked if she could explain it to me.

She too was stumped. I took the lift, and during the ascent I wondered if it was a franglais play on words, since un oeuf sounds to an English speaker like “enough”.

Certainly, five oysters would be enough for me! However, when the lady I had spoken to arrived at the top, she had worked out the joke – the “-re” at the end of “huitres” is often inaudible, so half of “dix-huit” is indeed “un neuf”!  Groan!

Rod Sykes, Haute-Garonne

Re Blague humour... there is a restaurant in Salernes called... Food d’Amour.

Laura FEARON, by email

There is a pizza establishment at Bagnères-de-Luchon, in the Pyrenees, called “Pizz Up”.

Michael Handelman, Haute-Garonne

It’s no longer there but raised a smile when I first saw it - “Vag Coiffeur” spotted in Nice a few years ago.

Francis SMITH, Alpes-Maritimes