Henpeck: Not a Noun
In today’s reprint of For Better or For Worse, there were a few things which jumped out at me:
1. John says, “The man still knows a henpeck when he sees one!!” This sent me off to the dictionary to see if “henpeck” could be a noun. It can’t. However I suppose this is a better word than John saying, “He still knows a bitch when he sees one!!”
2. If I am viewing this strip correctly, Elly is laying out John’s shirt for him to wear. This is surprising because John appears to be putting on the same shirt he wore on Wednesday, which upset Elly so much. The front pockets are different however (1 today instead of 2 on Wednesday). This makes me believe it is a different, Elly-approved, shirt John is putting on. To summarize: While John is complaining about not getting to wear what he likes, he still puts on a shirt Elly picks out for him to wear, that is very similar to the shirt she wouldn’t let him wear on Wednesday. Ow! I think I hurt my brain!
3. Elly is usually a little more subdued in her criticism of others. She does not mince words about Ted’s lack of qualification to give advice because he is a bachelor and an idiot. Is this one of those things like when people used to consider deaf and dumb to be synonymous? Is Elly actually equating bachelor with idiot? Considering how Elly thinks of her bachelor brother, this may not be too far from the truth.
4. John says Ted is qualified to know a henpeck, because he lives with his mother. Is this one of those things like when people used to consider deaf and dumb to be synonymous? Is John actually equating all mothers with henpecks?
5. John’s sleepy eyes when he talks about Ted living with his mother. This panel makes it look like John is dreamily thinking of the days back when he used to live with his mother. That's the funniest thing about this strip, which seems to be largely a story about 2 spouses yelling insults at each other.
1. John says, “The man still knows a henpeck when he sees one!!” This sent me off to the dictionary to see if “henpeck” could be a noun. It can’t. However I suppose this is a better word than John saying, “He still knows a bitch when he sees one!!”
2. If I am viewing this strip correctly, Elly is laying out John’s shirt for him to wear. This is surprising because John appears to be putting on the same shirt he wore on Wednesday, which upset Elly so much. The front pockets are different however (1 today instead of 2 on Wednesday). This makes me believe it is a different, Elly-approved, shirt John is putting on. To summarize: While John is complaining about not getting to wear what he likes, he still puts on a shirt Elly picks out for him to wear, that is very similar to the shirt she wouldn’t let him wear on Wednesday. Ow! I think I hurt my brain!
3. Elly is usually a little more subdued in her criticism of others. She does not mince words about Ted’s lack of qualification to give advice because he is a bachelor and an idiot. Is this one of those things like when people used to consider deaf and dumb to be synonymous? Is Elly actually equating bachelor with idiot? Considering how Elly thinks of her bachelor brother, this may not be too far from the truth.
4. John says Ted is qualified to know a henpeck, because he lives with his mother. Is this one of those things like when people used to consider deaf and dumb to be synonymous? Is John actually equating all mothers with henpecks?
5. John’s sleepy eyes when he talks about Ted living with his mother. This panel makes it look like John is dreamily thinking of the days back when he used to live with his mother. That's the funniest thing about this strip, which seems to be largely a story about 2 spouses yelling insults at each other.
posted by howard at 9:38 PM
12 Comments:
Is Elly actually equating bachelor with idiot?
Yep, she sure is.
I'm just waiting for the neighbors to wonder why Elly's taking such a long trip with her mother. At least John told them she was taking a long trip with her mother. The guy with the broken leg and binoculars across the street will have a different opinion.
Clio,
I have no idea why she thinks being unmarried means that a man is stupid; she's a walking, talking argument for being a confirmed bachelor.
howard,
You just watch; we'll see a dreary assortment of letters from even more people who chortle that they too used to get into minor spats about non-issues while ignoring the Pattersons' tendency to hold grudges forever.
There have been many comments on L.J.'s inspiration for her strip - her BFF Sparky and Cathy especially.
It seems her largest inspiration is the Lockhorns. Odd that she's never mentioned that.
Jennifer
It seems her largest inspiration is the Lockhorns. Odd that she's never mentioned that.
Could it be that Hoest saw the way Lynn trotted out her friendship with Sparky Schulz and, to a lesser extent, Jim Davis and Cathy Guisewite and threatened legal action if she did the same?
PS -- not necessarily legal action, but he could at least have threatened to respond to any requests for stories about their purported friendship by calling her work derivitive of his and saying he's never met nor spoken to her.
Clio,
The guy with the broken leg and binoculars across the street will have a different opinion.
You mean the guy with the gorgeous girlfriend, who likes to read fashion magazines?
DreadedCandiru2,
I have no idea why she thinks being unmarried means that a man is stupid; she's a walking, talking argument for being a confirmed bachelor.
Have you ever noticed that after Warren Blackwood and Constable Paul Wright met Elly, their relationship with Elizabeth started to go bad? It’s almost like they are thinking, “Elizabeth is going to grow up to be like that? Time for a new girlfriend.”
forworse,
PS -- not necessarily legal action, but he could at least have threatened to respond to any requests for stories about their purported friendship by calling her work derivitive of his and saying he's never met nor spoken to her.
Bill Hoest died in 1988, which is probably before Lynn starting doing any serious name-dropping about her relationship with Charles Schulz. He received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for the strip for 1975 and 1980, so he and Lynn were both members of the National Cartoonist Society and probably would have met there.
As for comic strips about husbands and wives fighting there have been plenty of them over the years. Bringing up Father featuring the battles of Maggie and Jiggs predates both strips.
I didn't take John's nouning of "henpeck" to be a reference to the person delivering the pecks, but rather the pecks themselves (n. a stroke or mark made with the beak). Not to be confused with (n. a light, quick kiss). ;)
aprilp_katje,
I didn't take John's nouning of "henpeck" to be a reference to the person delivering the pecks, but rather the pecks themselves
That could very well be the case. It doesn't really change the meaning that much. Ted either knows what being henpecked is like or he knows what a person who does henpecking is like.
Howard Bunt: "Considering how Elly thinks of her bachelor brother, this may not be too far from the truth."
**GASP** he does YOGA!
LOCK UP THE CHILDREN AND HIDE THE WOMEN.
**GASP** he does YOGA!
LOCK UP THE CHILDREN AND HIDE THE WOMEN.
:snerk::
Only disreputable people do that. ;)
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