The Dentist of Id
One of the catch phrases in The Wizard of Id comic strip is “The King is a fink!” In today’s reprint of For Better or For Worse, we see a rare reference to the other strip with the word “Fink”. As proof of my assertion, a quick check over the For Better or For Worse archives in AMU reprints shows me no other use of that word since before 1996 (the AMU Reprints archive limit).
The king, in this case, is John Patterson as he counts the girls he has working for him at 9, which includes his wife Elly. Frankly, I am surprised the number is so high. The dentist I go to has 2 ladies at the front desk, 1 dental assistant and 1 hygienist. A total of 4 is all that I see. In my mind, the implication is that another dentist works with John; but I admit I don’t know how dentists employ people in the Canadian system of dentistry.
As King John relates the number of his subjects, Elly determines that it includes her, and she calls him a fink. In The Wizard of Id, this would cause Elly to be put in the dungeon with Spook. However, in this strip, what John has really done is take advantage of Elly’s intimate knowledge of his office. As we learned back in October, when John hired his new hygienist, there is an implication that Elly has to approve of any woman John hires. When John says “9 girls”, he knows that Elly will think to herself, “9? I thought there were 8. Let me count them.” In contrast, if I were to tell my wife I had 9 girls working for me, she would let me have it for calling them girls.
What we have then is John is making a little joke taking advantage of Elly’s control of his office. If he were able to hire and fire at his office at will without consulting his wife for approval, then it would be a different story. Elly would say, “9? Have you hired someone recently?” Then John would have to say sheepishly, “Um no. I was counting you.” At which point Elly would say, “If that’s true, then I want a raise.”
As for what John is doing, I used to do this kind of thing with my kids all the time. I would say something that I knew was wrong, just so I could have the fun of seeing my kids realize I had made a mistake and determine to correct me on it. It was cute when my kids were little. Now they are 14 and 12, it’s not as cute as it used to be. I have a hard enough time with the real errors they find. In the early days of the strip, John used to intentionally antagonize Elly with these kinds of sexist remarks. As he grows older, he learns that it is better not to anger his wife.
The king, in this case, is John Patterson as he counts the girls he has working for him at 9, which includes his wife Elly. Frankly, I am surprised the number is so high. The dentist I go to has 2 ladies at the front desk, 1 dental assistant and 1 hygienist. A total of 4 is all that I see. In my mind, the implication is that another dentist works with John; but I admit I don’t know how dentists employ people in the Canadian system of dentistry.
As King John relates the number of his subjects, Elly determines that it includes her, and she calls him a fink. In The Wizard of Id, this would cause Elly to be put in the dungeon with Spook. However, in this strip, what John has really done is take advantage of Elly’s intimate knowledge of his office. As we learned back in October, when John hired his new hygienist, there is an implication that Elly has to approve of any woman John hires. When John says “9 girls”, he knows that Elly will think to herself, “9? I thought there were 8. Let me count them.” In contrast, if I were to tell my wife I had 9 girls working for me, she would let me have it for calling them girls.
What we have then is John is making a little joke taking advantage of Elly’s control of his office. If he were able to hire and fire at his office at will without consulting his wife for approval, then it would be a different story. Elly would say, “9? Have you hired someone recently?” Then John would have to say sheepishly, “Um no. I was counting you.” At which point Elly would say, “If that’s true, then I want a raise.”
As for what John is doing, I used to do this kind of thing with my kids all the time. I would say something that I knew was wrong, just so I could have the fun of seeing my kids realize I had made a mistake and determine to correct me on it. It was cute when my kids were little. Now they are 14 and 12, it’s not as cute as it used to be. I have a hard enough time with the real errors they find. In the early days of the strip, John used to intentionally antagonize Elly with these kinds of sexist remarks. As he grows older, he learns that it is better not to anger his wife.
posted by howard at 9:42 PM
4 Comments:
howard,
In the early days of the strip, John used to intentionally antagonize Elly with these kinds of sexist remarks. As he grows older, he learns that it is better not to anger his wife.
This is, of course, one of the more annoying things about their marriage; he evolved while she remained the same but we're supposed to think he's the idiot anyway.
At which point Elly would say, “If that’s true, then I want a raise.”
But... that would actually have been funny. And Elly can't possibly have a sense of humor, because that's incompatible with her real job: most pitiable Martyr in the history of the world, yes including those Christians fed to the lions. The Bataan Death March? A vacation. The Trail of Tears? Great scenery! All those witches and heretics tortured and burned to death during the late medieval era and early modern period? They got to be alone, at long last, totally alone. Antebellum slavery in the U.S.? They didn't have to take care of their kids when those kids were sold off to another state! Paradise!
And all the women who experienced police brutality, forcefeeding in prisons, misogyny, sexual harassment, sexual abuse and shunning on the way to getting women, and humanity and general, to where we are today? Amateurs, because they didn't have to put up with John Patterson.
Elly would say, “9? Have you hired someone recently?” Then John would have to say sheepishly, “Um no. I was counting you.” At which point Elly would say, “If that’s true, then I want a raise.”
Perhaps you should post that to Coffee Squalk... :D ("Lynn3, you must have a camera in my dentist's office! Your'e column is Teh Awesome! Hey, i have an idea: that strip would be even funnier if Elly ahd said...")
My dentists has ten hygienists, and it is just her in the practice. I think it is a poor business model because it means she overbooks and doesn't spend a lot of time with each patient. Dental offices also usually have a lab technician or two, and there's also dental assistants, who are different than hygienists. Eight seems a little high, but not outrageous.
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