The person offstage figured dad was going to go for a
scatological joke.
‘Why, because they are pieces of…’
…what Kamino and Arthur said.
The funniest thing about the strip is Grandpa’s expression in the second panel…
So, being the sort of person I am, I had to go look up why such a person is called a stool pigeon. There seem to be two theories and both may actually be true. One says that decoy birds were fastened to stools to lure wild pigeons. There’s also a meaning of “stall” that refers to a decoy, related to the German Stellvogel which means a decoy bird.
Does anybody use “stool” in the sense Grandpa is obviously going for in a non-medical context, almost always followed by “sample”? Which makes me think of Austrians. German has two words for “chair”. Stuhl is an ordinary chair, like a kitchen chair or a dining table chair, and Sessel, which is an armchair, almost always upholstered. Austrians, however, call any sort of chair Sessel, because Stuhl could be considered rude (same dual meaning as “stool”). Sometimes the differences between German and Austrian can be as bad as between British English and American.
DemetriosX: I applaud your motivation, and I’ve learned something. My understanding of a ‘stoolie’ or stool pigeon my entire life has been in the context that the granddaughter above is using it, one who simply tells the cops what’s happened or has been happening. You know, simply “squealing to the pigs” under the duress of interrogation or to secure a more lenient sentence. It never occurred to me that a confidential informant could be called a stool pigeon too. I guess it makes sense.
My whole world’s been turned upside down.
OT but related. The other day I was wondering where rooter to the tooter came from. Why is the mouth? head? called the rooter? hmmm..
Not the mouth, the nose. The part of the pig that roots around in the dirt looking for foodables.
I agree with Stan. Thank you, DemetriosX. Always a great day when I learn something new.
Because when they catch him, he’s going to crap his pants?
I didn’t think it was a poop joke necessarily. I think the wife saw he hadn’t a clue as to the right answer and was formulating a “Dad Answer.” Male Answer Syndrome.
At gramp’s age, you can’t hear the word “stool” decoupled from the word “sample,” which pretty much steers your mind into the gutter/toilet.
@Kamino OHHHHHH! THANKS! :-) ha!
Wouldn’t someone who poops be the stooler? I dread to think what the stoolie would do with it.
I always thought the derivation of “stool pigeon” was that when the cops bring him into the interrogation room and sit him down on the stool, he sings like a bird.
DemetriosX – a stool is also chair of sorts here also. It is has no back sometimes it is tall as such as a bar stool. Sometimes it is low such as a milking stool to sit on while milking a cow.
Comics I Don't Understand 
Was going to be a poop joke.
The person offstage figured dad was going to go for a
scatological joke.
‘Why, because they are pieces of…’
…what Kamino and Arthur said.
The funniest thing about the strip is Grandpa’s expression in the second panel…
So, being the sort of person I am, I had to go look up why such a person is called a stool pigeon. There seem to be two theories and both may actually be true. One says that decoy birds were fastened to stools to lure wild pigeons. There’s also a meaning of “stall” that refers to a decoy, related to the German Stellvogel which means a decoy bird.
Does anybody use “stool” in the sense Grandpa is obviously going for in a non-medical context, almost always followed by “sample”? Which makes me think of Austrians. German has two words for “chair”. Stuhl is an ordinary chair, like a kitchen chair or a dining table chair, and Sessel, which is an armchair, almost always upholstered. Austrians, however, call any sort of chair Sessel, because Stuhl could be considered rude (same dual meaning as “stool”). Sometimes the differences between German and Austrian can be as bad as between British English and American.
DemetriosX: I applaud your motivation, and I’ve learned something. My understanding of a ‘stoolie’ or stool pigeon my entire life has been in the context that the granddaughter above is using it, one who simply tells the cops what’s happened or has been happening. You know, simply “squealing to the pigs” under the duress of interrogation or to secure a more lenient sentence. It never occurred to me that a confidential informant could be called a stool pigeon too. I guess it makes sense.
My whole world’s been turned upside down.
OT but related. The other day I was wondering where rooter to the tooter came from. Why is the mouth? head? called the rooter? hmmm..
Not the mouth, the nose. The part of the pig that roots around in the dirt looking for foodables.
I agree with Stan. Thank you, DemetriosX. Always a great day when I learn something new.
Because when they catch him, he’s going to crap his pants?
I didn’t think it was a poop joke necessarily. I think the wife saw he hadn’t a clue as to the right answer and was formulating a “Dad Answer.” Male Answer Syndrome.
At gramp’s age, you can’t hear the word “stool” decoupled from the word “sample,” which pretty much steers your mind into the gutter/toilet.
@Kamino OHHHHHH! THANKS! :-) ha!
Wouldn’t someone who poops be the stooler? I dread to think what the stoolie would do with it.
I always thought the derivation of “stool pigeon” was that when the cops bring him into the interrogation room and sit him down on the stool, he sings like a bird.
DemetriosX – a stool is also chair of sorts here also. It is has no back sometimes it is tall as such as a bar stool. Sometimes it is low such as a milking stool to sit on while milking a cow.