How to Get ‘Word Play Fuel’ From ChatGPT

“The girl with colitis goes by…” and other ChatGPT revelations…

Image: DALL-E Prompt: A mostly black and white portrait of a girl with kaleidoscope eyes. The eyes are multi-coloured, resembling the intricate patterns of a kaleidoscope. The girl has a serene and thoughtful expression, capturing a sense of wonder and imagination. Her hair is styled in a whimsical manner, enhancing the fantastical theme of the portrait.

Many people mishear the Beatles lyric:

“the girl with kaleidoscope eyes”

as

“the girl with colitis goes by”

Who knew?

Well, ChatGPT did.

Inflammation of the colon aside, the chat that led to that discovery was interesting.

I was writing an article for a freelance client and wanted to think of some alternatives to the phrase: “draw comfort from”.

For context, the full sentence as originally drafted read: “In times of crisis, it helps to draw comfort from the positive outcomes of past events”.

I love a bit of word play, as I was brought up on the likes of Spike Milligan and Douglas Adams.

Added to that, the client likes a witty and humorous tone, so I thought, ‘let’s try and liven up that sentence a bit’…

But when you write all day for a living, your mind sometimes draws blanks.

These days that’s not such an issue. Why?

I’ve got a handy little AI helper to brainstorm alternatives.