(This is under the “not really a pun but word play in general” tag.)
Thanks to Andréa for this Bizarro:
I’m sure I’ve seen this joke used before, but not whether that means this is a repeat or just that the joke has occurred to others. A cursory search does find other examples, and tempting as it is to make a whole post out of three or four of them, let’s leave it at that.
From Andréa:
Just a bit corny.
And a little Oy-Ewww on the side.
A little bit mean … but still quite funny.
A brain-painful LOL from Chemgal:
Inspiration!
This almost went into the Oys list, since there is a play on a sort of ambiguity of where. This was a favorite joke-form of a friend of mine who knew Ulysses inside-out after teaching it to undergrads at Millard Fillmore College in Buffalo, and dubbed these “on the canal bank” jokes. It was from this bit, in the final chapter:
I hate that confession when I used to go to Father Corrigan he touched me father and what harm if he did where and I said on the canal bank like a fool but whereabouts on your person my child on the leg behind high up was it yes rather high up was it where you sit down yes O Lord couldnt he say bottom right out and have done with it what has that got to do with it and did you whatever way he put it I forget no father
I think this counts as a pun, even without doing a pun-joke.
The above sent by Andréa, who particularly notes Tom Waits getting mentioned, saying “Never thought I’d see HIM in a comic – made my day!”. And one of your editors had the pleasure of taking a couple classes from Professor Lance Rips, who liked to point out that his name constitutes a complete sentence.
Meant to post this earlier.
I learned the word prodigal in the context of the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and thought it meant something like all the characteristics of the guy in the story – wandering, absent, returning after a long absence and acting all entitled, etc, all packaged in that one word. Only much later did I start seeing contexts that wouldn’t support all of that meaning, and learned the base sense spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant.
And then discovered that was what it meant in the Parable, too. But there had not been enough help from the context to make that choice clear! And this fits the philosopher’s point that, if your informant points to a rabbit and says gavagai, maybe they are telling you the word means rabbit — but maybe it means finger.
Two Andertoons for the price of one.
Well that’s getting down to the point!
Nice to see the secondary characters getting featured on their own.
Here’s that “LOL-Yikes! (horror)” you saw category-tagged and wondered about.
Actually I think this is making a pretty deep point about the relativity of relativity.
Thanks to Dale Eltoft for sending in the second Diamond Lil in the pair below. “This follows from the day before but I don’t know if that’s a necessary setup.” On that recommendation we’re also including the set-up one first, though it isn’t in itself an OY.
(In a followup, they make it clear that you better say it in the pun way or there is no joke left!)
Oy! this is so labored of a pun — but sometimes you just have to honor that labor! (Also interesting how there had to be a switch of syntactic role of me in the last panel.)
Added Thursday – This cartoon was the main topic of an Arnold Zwicky post on his blog, which says a lot more than my remark above on the parsing of the punned title in the last panel; and also brings up Stephan Pastis as a mainstay of this genre.
A multi-OY from Cat and Girl, with e3xtras from meme-land.
This is probably well understood as one of those “ironies of modern life” LOLs. But it’s too long to comfortably go into a “Sunday Funnies LOLs” list post, so here it is as a bonus on its own.
If fireworks were sentient:
From Kilby, with a nod to Andréa and many other pet owners.
Stay tuned to your news source for more exciting adventures of The American Experiment, 2022!
Thanks to Boise Ed for this Shrimp and Grits:
FYI, Andy Marlette who does this strip is apparently the nephew of the late Doug Marlette, known as creator of Kudzu and for his editorial cartooning.
But wait … there’s more!
In my neighborhood there are unofficial fireworks for all sorts of holidays and unexplained occasions, chiefly firecrackers. But indeed the loudest and longest-running are the official displays for The Fourth and other sanctioned events …. but always supplemented by local enthusiasts.
And so most major holidays are accompanied by topical responses in pet advice blogs, veterinary newsletters, and pet supply store tracker ads, on how to soothe and de-stress the furry friends in the face of the startling noises.
If you noticed an OY category marker for this post, and wondered which item(s) may have triggered that, here is one answer.
Back in OY territory!
And finally, time for “Ballad for Americans”
Let’s appropriately start with the Pledge of Allegiance.
A serious moment from Nancy. The Gilchrists could do this type of thing well.
Now it’s time for a picnic and fireworks!
The Founding Fathers had to contend with a lot of logistic difficulties in declaring independence.
Let’s not forget, though, that the Founding Fathers were also quite interested in making a buck, and modern America continues that tradition!
But eventually the Founding Fathers brought their interests into harmony with each other.
This land is your land and this land is my land
From the California to the New York island
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and me (Woody Guthrie)
Funny just for the absurdity of it.
Comics I Don't Understand 