Thanks to Darren, who sends this in saying “This one hurts my brain”.
“Is the fan on? I would hope for some blurring or sphericasia, but it looks like it’s not running. In which case, why move it?
The alternative is that the fan is running and someone thinks a cockerel weathervane points away from the wind….”
From Bob Quixote, puzzled by a cartoon in the New Yorker — as so many of us so often are!
The quixotic one says: I hope you can help me with this cartoon from the latest New Yorker. I’ve been studying it for way too long but cannot figure it out. Why are the cows cops? Is there a hole under the torn-down fence? Why didn’t the robber just hop the fence instead of taking time to take down a section of the fence? Thanks
Phil of the editorial team adds: That’s a cattle guard, common in the West: you can drive over ‘em, but they stop cattle.
… as a commenter said.
But in what way exactly is the friend Henri-Lee suggesting the mockingbird is responsible?
Also sent in by Chak, who wonders if there might be some pop cultural reference she’s not getting.
This appearance of “Yes, I’m Hot in This” on 29 July 2024 was a return to GoComics after an absence, with the previous publication marked as 06 September 2023. The GoComics comments for this strip were mostly on the “Welcome back!” theme, but with a few addressing the content. Her Patreon describes activities over the past year including an NBA nomination; but only indirectly talks about getting back into drawing cartoons.
(Marking as “Momentary CIDU” because it was a touch confusing at first, but not too hard to decode in general terms.)
No, she’s not a professional hoopster, you philistine!
Thanks to Boise Ed for suggesting this.
The core for Ed of why this may be problematic is whether to take seriously the appearance of a body of water along the bottom border of the drawing, with therefore some air above it. If that casts the main picture as taking place in the air, well that sort of works for seeing the flying fish as actually performing sustained flight in the air. But it is something of a fail in terms of the human diver (with air bubbles!) and the other species of water-borne life — they can’t be understood as up in the air!
But of course that strip along the bottom doesn’t have to be taken as water below air. It could be just a decorative border. Or better, it could be the seafloor, below a water scene.
Thanks to Chipper42 for sending this in:
They say “I assume he ran into the lobster traps on purpose. I really don’t follow the last panel.”
As always — but it needs saying explicitly again now and then — we like to think of this as a heavily reader-participation site, and not just for your invaluable (or anyhow amusing) comments, but for suggestions of comics to run and discuss.
Please share your specific suggestions of panels or strips, in CIDU, LOL, OY, and CIHS (Comic I Haven’t Seen) categories, either by direct email to
(that’s “CIDU dot Submissions” at gmail dot com) or by using the handy-dandy Suggest A CIDU form page! Just as Chipper42 did!
The sign meant “Just Married” before someone modified it. And it then became “Freshly Roasted”.
Can you suggest a pair of English expressions, differing by some small edits only, that could fit this picture and/or work like the Spanish caption pair?
The GoComics comments provide many more things those initials can mean; but none that make sense in the context.
I guess this was before renting a bouncy castle was the thing for kids’ parties.
Thanks to BillR for sending!
Comics I Don't Understand 