The Farsiliner
an amusing flash fiction dialogue
Why are things called what they’re called? Often, it’s what they do plus -er. A toaster, a computer, a liner… a farsiliner. What does it do? Read on!
The Farsiliner
“What is that?”
“What?”
“That round… thing in your hands.”
“Oh, uh, it’s a farsiliner.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“What does it do?”
“You can’t tell?”
“Farsilines?”
“Of course!”
“Seriously, what does it do?”
“Like you said, it farsilines.”
“And that means…?”
“You do it all the time.”
“Just tell me already.”
“Three guesses.”
“Huhhhhh…. fine. It… measure things.”
“That would be a tape measure.”
“I know that.”
“Well, it’s obviously not that.”
“It could be.”
“Well, then I would have said, ‘It’s a tape measure.'”
“What do you want me to say, then?”
“I want you to say something that something else doesn’t already do.”
”Something that something else doesn’t already do…. Okay, I think I know what you mean. You know I hate you, right?”
“Sure, now guess.”
“Um, it slurps worms and chops them into sushi.”
“Ewww, that’s gross. Nothing would do that. Don’t be stupid. What would be the point of worm sushi?”
“I don’t know. What’s the point of sushi?”
“It's delicious. C'mon. Just guess. A real guess.”
“Okay, it hunilines and farses all at the same time.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Sure it does. Every bit as much sense as ‘farsiliner.'”
“Where are you going? You haven’t guessed yet.”
“I’ve decided it’s not important. Besides, my yentinator is vibrating.”
“Yentinator?”
Have any ideas what a farsiliner or a yentinator might do? Leave suggestions in the comments!
