Tag / Mark Anderson

by multipleciduers

Saturday Morning OYs – June 29th, 2024

And I still maintain that the ugly Internet phenomenon of “trolling” started being called that from a metaphor on the fishing practice (dragging a baited hook behind a quiet small boat), and not the Scandinavian bridge-dwelling threateners.

Are we done with Bizarro for this post? Never say so!

I was preparing to protest that the expression is traditionally “strait and narrow” — which would be preferable despite its redundancy. The pattern of redundancy in rhetorical pairs remains hale and hearty, though some may wish it null and void.

But no! The useful sources recognize only “straight and narrow”, with just a nod to the echoes of “strait”. Here’s Etymonline f’ristance [in entry for straight (adj.2) = “conventional,” especially “heterosexual,” 1941]:

probably suggested by the stock phrase straight and narrow path or way, “course of conventional morality and law-abiding behavior” (by 1842), which is based on a misreading of Matthew vii.14 (where the gate is actually strait); another influence seems to be strait-laced.

No, let’s not get started on straight-jacket!

Et tu, Jeremy?

by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies – LOLs, June 23rd, 2024

Nice variation on a standard cat-behavior joke. (Do you’all remember Business Cat #1?)

I’d call this Andertoons just about perfect!

Hmm, would it be better if the two ideas in the last panel were reversed? First “wonder why” then “and how”?

Subscribe in the Founding Member tier.

Comics Kingdom is heavily promoting Goomer:

by multipleciduers

Saturday Morning OYs – June 15th, 2024

Rather dumb word-argument. But it prompts memory of an assortment of senior-targeted advertising campaigns which for a while used the phrasing “age 50 or better” or “age seventy-and-a-half or better” etcetera. It was supposed to be obvious, yet a sort of joke, that better would mean older. At least one that I heard regularly for a while did change to older; but then later reverted to better ; so I guess there was some complaint but it got resolved, or just overruled.

Come to think of it, probably the word-level associations of squashing things must have played a role in my lifelong aversion to the vegetable of that name.

Chak notes “I’ve read En attendant Godot several times, and I still don’t have a clue.”

Could one expect Godot to comment? Waiting for your comments below.

by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies – LOLs, May 12th, 2024

For Mothers Day, a bit of both-parental sentiment from Bliss:

Probably obvious, but for the record, it is Susan (the character shown) herself who is trying to give up caffeine.

The Hax advice column this accompanies is here.

TBH, I don’t entirely understand this. I mean, I understand the heartwarming message about group loyalty and generosity — but not whether there was actually supposed to be anything funny.

Wait, could this be heading for an idiom-origins story about “bought the farm”? No? Nah!

by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies – LOLs, April 21st, 2024

CIDU? NIMHO. LOL!

Usual John sent this one. The older man is the manager two levels up.

Puzzled? Think “Exit 1, Exit 2, and Exit 3.”

A devoted cat person is going to be reluctant to blame sneezes on sensitivity to the cat. And cats are in return sensitive over human sneezing, as shown in panels 3 and 4. My cats are even more sensitive than Ludwig, and likely would run away at the point of Achoo!

This week’s LOL-Ewww:

by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies – LOLs, April 7th, 2024

Keep doing variations on a theme, and sooner or later you’ll hit on one the fans don’t remember!

Have you seen the meme about the Welsh translation service?

Is the shell the choice spot for petting a tortoise?

Quite the wily allusion.

But only on condition they walk in together.

Geezer Alert!

This is the LOL-Weird entry for the week. Bizarro in more than name alone!

Thanks to Grawlix and Chemgal for suggesting this artist:

Here’s the LOL-Aww promised in the tags.