趙元任先生以喜歡「玩字兒」出名，而且中英文都會玩。以下片段出自他的《早年自傳》第七章〈為羅素任翻譯及結婚〉於1921年搭船赴美的片段。文中的雙關語只出現在英文，中文無法玩雙關。雙關語可能是趙元任藉胡適之口說出來的：
到了[1921年]8月30日，我們搭乘「西伯利亞丸」從上海經日本去舊金山。到船上為我們送行的有胡適、林炳南（Lin Pingnan）（她同學貢虹的兄弟）、商務印書館的高夢旦等人。我們為每人叫來冷飲。胡適看到韻卿在玩弄檸檬汽水，喝得並不多，他說：「楊大夫，也許我語無倫次，我想你不是暈船，可能是『害喜』吧？」在中文裡「有喜」便是懷了孕。
By August 30 [1921], we went on board the S. S. “Siberai Maru” to sail from Shanghai to San Francisco via Japan. Seeing us off on board before departure were Hu Shih, Lin Pingnan (her schoolmate Kuanhung’s brother), Kao Mengtan of the Commercial Press, and others. We ordered softs for everybody. Seeing that Yunching was playing with her lemon soda without drinking much of it, Hu Shih said: "Dr. Yang, I may be speaking out of turn. But I don't think you are seasick. Could it be that you are "hsi-sick?" For to have hsi in Chinese means to be with child.
後記：
楊步偉在《雜記趙家》中對於這件事的記載是這樣的：：
適之說，韻卿，我想你有特別的原因了，喝點汽水什麼的，也許胃口暢快一點。果不其然，他真內行。我罵元任你如何沒想到？適之大笑說，他不內行，我是有經驗的，他若這個是內行就靠不住了。
可是趙元任的翻譯還是加上hsi-sickness這一段：
Hu Shih remarked: "Dr. Yang, perhaps I shouldn't say
this, but I don't think you are sea sick. Could it be that you are hsi-sick?" For the Chinese
expression yu hsi "to have
gladness" means to be with child.
這段故事在《一個女人的自傳》也出現，英文是這樣的：
回覆刪除Noticing the way I played with drinking and not drinking the lemon soda, Hu Shih said: "Dr. Yang, I may be speaking out of turn. But I don't think you are seasick. Could it be that you are hsi-sick?" (注：To have hsi, "gladness," means to be with child.)