Is anybody else bothered by the use of “interrogate” in Theory-laden political and social discourse?
If you’re having any uncertainty about the main pun (which comes about third in sequence), think brand name.
Remind you of the title of a contemporary pun-loving panel comic?
From Brian in STL, successfully using the Suggest-a-CIDU form. His message starts from puzzlement, but arrives at a theory your CIDU editors are also happy with: It’s not entirely clear to me what’s going on. In a way, the first panels look like the preliminary sketches a cartoonist does. So is the coffee affecting him? Or is Jane now able to “focus” since she’s had coffee?
(not a CIDU) My favorite has always been Æthelred the Unready (English king from 978-1016). What are favorite epithets of yours?
What actual painting is this scene based on?
I think it’s a famous one I can’t bring to mind.
But I can’t help thinking of Poussin’s A Dance to the Music of Time (banner to this post), which in turn I’m aware of mostly from its use in Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time.
The Poussin has four figures (they could be the Seasons, or in Powell’s treatment the Kindly Ones, i.e. Furies), facing outward; while this scene has five, facing inward. The Poussin dates from 1634-1636, while this other scene with its contorted nudes surely is showing an influence of Impressionism or later.
Later: okay, I have been informed. It’s La Danse by Henri Matisse with versions from 1909 and 1910.
The questions keep branching out. What is the drawing meant to show? Empty spaces on the shelves? So then the geezer is being sarcastic about “I wouldn’t have any of that stuff in my library”? Or they really are audiobooks, on physical CDs with shiny plastic cases? And then Zack is dumbfounded because he has never heard of audiobooks? Or instead, Zack is dumbfounded because he is quite familiar with audiobooks, but always in electronic or virtual form and never before this in a physical recording?
Kilby sends in this one, which left him moderately confused.
For one thing, what are the circumstances in which you’d text “circulate”?
Okay, maybe something of a CIDU-LOL. Google Translate is not as helpful as one would like — I don’t trust “cable castanets” . I do rather trust “box castanets” but why “light box castanets”? That’s not a “light box” as used in graphics arts, anyway. And I think the primary joke is our stand-in character enjoying “vulgar castanets” instead of “common-or-garden castanets”.
Is her expression already reacting to this irritating oversight?
But maybe this one was meant to make up for that?
And here’s another Lard for you for this week!
I wanted to say something like “This is not just a pun, but etymologically correct!”. It turns out something like that is justified, but not quite so simple and direct. Both Etymonline and Dictionary.com recognize a verb maze or amaze meaning “to daze, perplex, or stupefy” or “overwhelm or confound with sudden surprise or wonder,” but seem unclear on how it is related to the noun meaning “labyrinth, baffling network of paths or passages” . But yes, it is related, some way.
Oh gosh, and here’s this entry mazy (adj.) “like a maze, winding, intricate,” 1570s, from maze (n.) + -y (2).! Brings back writing a paper on Book 9 of Paradise Lost, full of narrative about “the mazy serpent”.
The pun is not new, but as an oldie it is a goody!
Truss didn’t make it as prime minister long enough to outlast a head of lettuce, or the lead time for this comic.
A CIDU from Dirk the Daring.
The BOB MANKOFF PRESENTS: SHOW ME THE FUNNY (ANIMAL EDITION) feed on Comics Kingdom seems to stick with some kind of animal for a week or two, then move on to a series with another kind. After a good run of ostriches, they have moved on to snails. I’m hoping for a visual to go with “Look at that S-Car go!”.
From Andréa, who points out for the synchronicity inspectors that although the Knight Life is a rerun or classic, its appearance on GoComics was 2022/11/08, same as the Candorville. The Candorville is a pretty good LOL at the end, too, despite edging up kinda near to partisan politics.
(Post-posting edit: As noted in comments, the following was the intended Knight Life, which actually uses the phrase “I can’t believe”.)
And for some additional fun on the “Can’t believe it” topic, Andréa also sends a link for this scene from The Vicar of Dibley. Impressive memory and facility from Emma Chambers, playing Alice.
Comics I Don't Understand 