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| title    = Strunk and White
 
| title    = Strunk and White
 
| image    = strunk_and_white.png
 
| image    = strunk_and_white.png
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| imagesize =
 
| titletext = The best thing about Strunk/White fanfiction is that it's virtually guaranteed to be well written.
 
| titletext = The best thing about Strunk/White fanfiction is that it's virtually guaranteed to be well written.
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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The 1918 writing style guide ''{{w|The Elements of Style}}'', by Cornell University professor {{w|William Strunk Jr.}} and ''New Yorker'' writer {{w|E.B. White}} (perhaps better known as the author of ''{{w|Charlotte's Web}}'' and ''{{w|Stuart Little}}''), is commonly referred to as "''Strunk & White''". In this comic, the current editors of ''Strunk & White'' are clarifying a matter of style pertaining to the style guide, an instance of {{w|meta humor}}, a recurring theme in ''xkcd''.
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This is a comic about the 1918 writing style guide called "{{w|The Elements of Style}}" by Cornell University professor William Strunk Jr. and New Yorker writer E.B. White. Just like in the original book, they are clarifying the usage of words and punctuation in the English language. In this case however, they are clarifying the use of the original authors' names, one usage for the book and another for the {{w|slash fiction}} or erotic fan fiction involving them.
  
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Erotic fan fiction is a genre of writing in which fans make up erotic stories involving characters from non-erotic stories. "{{w|Slash fiction}}" is a subgenre that pairs characters of the same sex: These pairings are denoted by using the "/" to separate the paired characters, hence the name "slash fiction". This convention is generally thought to originate with the {{w|Kirk/Spock}} pairing in {{w|Star Trek: The Original Series|''Star Trek''}} fan fiction, wherein "K/S" was used for such romantic or erotic works of fan fiction, while "K&S" was used for non-romantic works. This comic imagines a similar distinction being necessary for "''Strunk & White''" vs. "Strunk/White".
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Erotic fan fiction, if you were not aware, is a genre of fiction in which fans make up erotic stories involving characters from non erotic stories. "Slash fiction" is a special subgenre that pairs characters of the same sex and is denoted by using the "/" to separate the paired characters. {{w|Orthography}} is the rules of a written language, including punctuation and spelling.
  
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The title text comments that authors of Strunk/White fan fiction will most likely have read ''The Elements of Style'', which makes them better writers.
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The title text comments that authors of Strunk/White fan fiction must have read The Elements of Style, which makes them better writers.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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:[Hairbun, with glasses, sits behind a desk typing on a computer. A line goes from the keyboard indicating that the text above is the one she types. Behind her stand Cueball with a book in his hand, and a man with male-pattern baldness holding up a smoking pipe.]
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:[3 dignified-looking editors of Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style" before a desk with a computer. One is seated and types the following:]
  
 
:Dear Internet,
 
:Dear Internet,
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::We, the current editors of  
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:   We, the current editors of Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style", must —with great reluctance— clarify a point of orthography:
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:Strunk & White's ''The Elements of''
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:    "Strunk & White" should be used for the style manual and "Strunk/White" for the erotic fan fiction pairing.
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:''Style'', must—with great reluctance—
 
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:clarify a point of orthography:
 
  
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::"Strunk & White" should be
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{{comic discussion}}  
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:used for the style manual and
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<!-- Include any categories below this line-->
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:"Strunk/White" for the erotic
 
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:fan fiction pairing.
 
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==Trivia==
 
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E.B. White is mentioned again in the later comics, [[2162: Literary Opinions]] and [[1087: Cirith Ungol]].
 
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{{comic discussion}}
 
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[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
 
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Language]]
 
[[Category:Language]]
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[[Category:Sex]]
 

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