by zbicyclist

Tiny Bubbles

Bob Ball sends this in: “Don’t those small bubbles rising from near the stern mean that whoever’s behind the wheel is drunk?”

The bubbles seem like a odd addition to an otherwise clever double pun. There’s the obvious pun around the sailors being on the mast, and the alternative definition of mast: “fruits, seeds, or nuts (such as berries, pine seeds, or acorns) of trees or shrubs that serve as food for wild or domestic animals and typically accumulate on the ground”

6 Comments

  1. Unknown's avatar

    I don’t think those bubbles indicate drunkenness. They are too large, relative to the ship, for that, and there is nothing in the cartoon to suggest drinking. My guess is that they represent smoke, possibly from a galley oven, that was in the picture the cartoonist used as a model. In other words, I don’t think the bubbles are part of the joke.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Unknown's avatar

    I agree with Usual John that the bubbles probably are not for drunkenness. But I don’t have any good suggestion on what they are, having tried then dropped “trail to a thought balloon”. … Since the thought balloon is not evinced …

    Like

  3. Unknown's avatar

    If the bubbles are from the galley (best idea I’ve heard yet), then they’re sorta kinda vaguely maybe part of the joke in that they mean there IS a galley, whence the mast food cometh?

    Like

  4. Unknown's avatar

    I agree with Usual John’s interpretation, that they are smoke, and that it was present in the reference picture. Note the smoke is going forward, as it should, because it’s a sailing ship, and the wind is blowing from behind. I think most people today’s tendency would be to naively draw the smoke going backwards, because we are used to self-propelled ships.
    Similarly, flags and pennants on a sailing ship point forward in the wind.

    Like

  6. Unknown's avatar

    Smoke is possible, but I thought it might be a chain, even though ropes seem more likely on a ship like that.

    Like

Add a Comment