Wer kann auf Deutsch zu kommunizieren?/Who can get by in German?

[Lord Avalon]

Ich habe einen Bleistift. - Dave Letterman

[Buster's Uncle]

I was doing fine until Dave got to the last word...

[Geo]

Letterman?

[Buster's Uncle]

He's a talk-show host from the American Midwest, who used to throw a lot of pencils over his shoulder through the fake window behind the desk to a fake breaking glass sound.

[Lord Avalon]

It's a line he would trot out when he had the opportunity to say that he spoke German.

[Geo]

I thought of another meaning first, but its just a crayon.

[Buster's Uncle]

I believe I've puzzled out the literal meaning of "Bleistift".  Blaze (mark) stiff(ended), or more liberally, marker in a supporting structure, i.e., pencil lead in wood, or just pencil.  I understand that much of German is compounded in similar ways, if often less subtly.

Am I completely wrong here?

[Lord Avalon]

Wiktionary says "lead" + "pen."

[Buster's Uncle]

Ah well.  Live and learn.

[Sava]

most of the german i know is from wolfenstein and die hard

[cykodennis]

Ich natürlich.