explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2823: Fossil

2023-09-06T08:40:07Z

172.70.90.83:

Boop! [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 07:53, 2 September 2023 (UTC)

Came here to find out what in the heck ‘boop’ has to do with anything, learned absolutely nothing (autospell changed it to “book” so I’m not alone). [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.76|172.71.154.76]] 08:17, 2 September 2023 (UTC)
:There's a link there now (not sure when anyone added it, might have been after your query) which satisfies me somewhat. Seems to be a playful tagging/"you're it!" sort of thing, though, like "punch buggy <yellow/etc>", it's not something I really knew of though probably appears to be in Randall's childhood/whatever cultural background and that's good enough for me. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.152|172.69.79.152]] 09:53, 2 September 2023 (UTC)
::I agree that "boop" needs an extra explanation for non native speakers of English. The link is useful (thanks to whoever added it) but the Wiktionary definition alone is too terse to get the pun.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 11:54, 2 September 2023 (UTC)
:::Wait wait wait.... It's a <i>pun</i>? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.147.191|172.70.147.191]] 00:35, 5 September 2023 (UTC)
:I added the wikitionary link and I was not entirely happy with it, but it's a starting point. Please do improve it. To me, "boop" is a friendly pat on the nose that one might do to, especially, a dog's nose; see https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/play-exercise/do-dogs-like-dog-boops?. Definitely more affectionate and less aggressive than the "punch buggy" action (which can get out of hand), or even tagging. I was surprised that https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boop did not have a mention of this, not even on the talk page; yeah, it's not the most encyclopedic of topics, but discussing social behaviors is beyond the bounds of wiktionary, and Urban Dictionary isn't a great place to cite to (even if it were helpful). [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 12:26, 2 September 2023 (UTC)
::To the non-native English speakers, it's basically just playfully, gently touching a dog or other animal/pet on the nose while saying "Boop". Like "I got your nose." Not really petting/stroking; just a form of play or affection. I'm not surprised there isn't a lot documented on this as it's not really a "thing". Kind of like Randall's use of pew pew pew noises while pretending to fire a ray gun. You understand what he's doing and may have done it yourself, but it's not the kind of thing you expect to find on Wikipedia. :) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.125|172.71.254.125]] 15:40, 2 September 2023 (UTC) Pat
:"Boop" can also be a great training tool: Dogs love to poke us with their noses, so a lot of them can readily be trained to come put their nose in your hand when you hold it palm out & say "Boop"! Adorable & handy. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 03:03, 4 September 2023 (UTC)
::Huh, and here I was thinking that it must be something people did to annoy animals, cats in particular don't enjoy being poked in the nostril. I am somewhat mystified by this entire thing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.226.104|108.162.226.104]] 22:08, 4 September 2023 (UTC)
:::Oh doing it ''to'' a cat is ''definitely'' a surefire way to tick them off; though I've known quite a few male cats so affectionate as to boop their face against any hand extended near enough to them. When ''they'' boop ''us'', it's a sign of affection, when ''we'' boop ''them'', the response depends greatly on the boopee's demeanor & mood. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 04:24, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
::::That (a cat-boop, but by another name) is even integrated into Dwarf Fortress code, as can be seen in its Raws (i.e. entity configuration files). 'Show' the details at the bottom of [https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/Cat this wiki page] and look right at the bottom for the [CAN_DO_INTERACTION:BP_BUMP] definition structure. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.83|172.70.90.83]] 08:40, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
: Try searching "boop", "nose boop" or similar on TikTok and you'll know what it's about. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 15:22, 5 September 2023 (UTC)

The furries gonna have a field day with this one :] [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.178|172.71.154.178]] 22:07, 2 September 2023 (UTC)

I was actually curios as whether any eye had ever seen a 400 million old fossil. Had to look it up to see when the first eyes evolved. But seems it was around [https://www.scienceworld.ca/stories/eyes-how/ 550 million years ago], so some eyes may have seen the animal that turned in to the fossil Cueball now sees. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:47, 3 September 2023 (UTC)
: "... see an animal that no one has laid eyes on..." strongly implies that the "no one" means "no human being". Which doesn't really make sense in this context. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 02:15, 4 September 2023 (UTC)

I thought that the rock with the trilobite looks like a remote control button that makes a "beep" or "boop" when you push it. Or alternatively an infant's toy that has a button that makes a sound like a clown's nose. So Cueball is pressing the trilobite and vocalizing the "boop" sound that would be expected from these objects. Although "booping" a child's nose is a thing ... although it seems very rude ... I did not associate the fossil rock with the trilobite with noses, but I did associate it with remote control devices that have a flat pad with a button (or many buttons) on it. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 13:26, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

Here is an example picture of a trilobite which has two large eyes and a centre area which might be booped. The fossil is 3D meaning it is not flat.
[[File:trilobite.jpg|300px]]
In contrast a fossil fish will often be flat, almost 2D, and show only one eye. Many people in North America do not like to see the head of a fish and so the head of a fossil fish can also seem odd.
[[User:Punchcard|Punchcard]] ([[User talk:Punchcard|talk]]) 22:07, 3 September 2023 (UTC)

Can someone provide a pronunciation guide, preferrably a phonetic representation, of the word fossiliferous ? Anyone except native speakers of English who are also paleonthology enthousiasts will likely be unsure whether to pronounce it as "fossi-LI-ferous" or "fossili-FE-rous". [[User:Blagae|Blagae]] ([[User talk:Blagae|talk]]) 12:15, 4 September 2023 (UTC)
:I'm not a palæontologist, who might know differently, but as an English speaker (one of a multitude of potentially different Englishes) I'd say fossi-LI-ferous, as I would carbo-NI-ferous or splen-DI-ferous, it seeming to be the general pattern for {{wiktionary|Rhymes:English/ɪfəɹəs|that type of word}}.
:But emphasis would so easily change, at need. "That limestone is not only CARBONiferous, but particularly FOSSILiferous, too!" would be a rhetoric stress. (Though the number of times people mis-stress things... It's not "The cousins came to the party. Not only Jack JONES, but Pete JONES too...", which sounds weird to me when one should stress JACK and PETE, both of them 'merely' Joneses. So often do I hear this sort of thing done wrongly, it makes me wonder if actually I'm wrong about it all!)
:Does that help? Noting that wiktionary gives /splɛnˈdɪfəɹəs/, with the ˈ in it where I'd generally agree, but that isn't included as an -iferous rhymer and certainly fossiliferous doesn't have a full IPA, with or without the ˈ point. And someone with a full classicist education might well have other ideas anyway (also yer average Leftpondian, especially Randall, but differently so again). [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.156|172.71.178.156]] 16:43, 4 September 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2814: Perseids Pronunciation

2023-08-19T08:12:54Z

172.70.90.83:

I'm afraid to google the Kentucky Meat Shower. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.139|162.158.158.139]] 14:43, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
:SPOILER ALERT
:I can give you a very quick summary: when startled, vultures will sometimes regurgitate their last meal, both to lighten themselves for a quick escape, and make a potential predator lose its appetite. Apparently, something startled a bunch of vultures at the same time, and nobody knows exactly what. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.247.42|172.69.247.42]] 14:55, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_meat_shower [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 14:59, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

"can" is repeated in the title text. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.54|141.101.68.54]] 14:53, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

On August 11, 2023, XKCD was not the only web comic to reference the "Kentucky Meat Shower". It is the full subject of the day's Dinosaur Comics, at http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=4085. And August 11 is not even an anniversary of the event (March 3, 1876). Coincidence? Time travel? You be the judge. [[User:JohnB|JohnB]] ([[User talk:JohnB|talk]]) 15:32, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

This tells me neither how acceptable things like my default lazy pronunciation, nor the original ancient greek pronunciation of its namesake, are considered. How am I supposed to guess where combinations of variations like PEER-, -seh-, and -ides would affect placement in the list? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.35|172.71.142.35]] 19:12, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

It's not ''wrong'', per-se. (ed.)
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:40, 11 August 2023 (UTC)
:That's exactly how I pronounce it. (per se) + ids. per-say-ids. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.4.168|172.68.4.168]] 10:04, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
::ed ≠ id, though.
::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:07, 13 August 2023 (UTC)

*PER-see-ids: standard(ish, YMMV) 3-syllable verson of the word.
*PURSE-yids: standardish 2-(/2.5-)syllable version.
*Per-SEE-ids: yeah, I'd accept that emphisis, in a pinch.
*Per-SAY-ids: ok, so you like ''that'' version of the 'ei' digraph; might even be 'classical'.
*Per-SIDES: Germanic digraph and irregular (in this case) phomeme boundries, but each to their own.
*Per-ZAY-uds: I can see most of this, accent permitting; the '<schwa>ds' is a surprising twist.
*PER-suds: you dont care about the digraph at all, do you?
*Perky-ids: Back-formed through "C/S equivalence", I'm guessing, but from the wrong s(e)ide?
*Pewpewpews: Onomatopœia!!!
*Per-say-say: Bowdlerised, as if the original is a 'naughty' word.
*Percies: Shortened through familiarity.
*Purps: Shortened/perhaps linked to "perp(etrator)s".
*Pepsids: Sponsorship! (Did we also get the "Dracokids", 6-10 Oct?)
*Peeps: Anthopomorphised, the lot of 'em!
...my first thoughts, but I'm sure there are competing claims so I'll leave this down here for the time being. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.47|162.158.74.47]] 23:28, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

: Per-ZAY-uds seems like it could be acceptable in New Zealand. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.35|172.71.178.35]] 08:40, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

The list in the Explanation's table was missing most of them, and the Transcript separated the two-word entries into separate entries! Fixed all that. Filled in my analyses of the missing pronunciations, I'm sure others can flesh them out better, add relevant links as I couldn't be bothered to both think of things to link and figure out the best way to link them (and make the multi-entry rows look proper). Also, someone severely misunderstood what "Peeps" would mean, it seems clearly to be the slang for "people". The goofy entries seemed to require separate descriptions, so I left them as separate rows as the cleanest/clearest layout I can think of for that, with the rudimentary understanding of Wiki tables I could glean from what was already there. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:46, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
:I'm convinced it's "Percies" and "Purps" and "Pepsids" and "Peeps", at the end, not "Percies Purps" and "Pepsids Peeps". Just arrayed in two columns as they're shortened enough to make it an unasethetic layout to extend by two rows and add so much gap at the end of four lines. "Pewpewpews" aside, none of the others more than double the "p"s from the original single one. It can be forgiven to bookend a short phoneme (Purps, Peeps), but sounds off to revisit the pattern (twice!) in this manner, with no clear connection between paired elements. Just my own observation, though. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.46|162.158.74.46]] 20:22, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
::I know! Look at the size of the spacing between the left and right elements - those aren't two-word terms, no way.

::I can see how an at-a-glance read might come up with "Pepsids Peeps" and "Percies Perps"...but at-a-glance reading seems a little out of place on an analytical forum!

::Those are four seperate names.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 07:35, 13 August 2023 (UTC)

:::I don't know why SO many of you are making this mistake! No, last 2 lines are unquestionably 2 entries, sorry. It's weird Randall put so much space, it's unfortunate the spaces line up to be easily mistaken for columns, but they're only 2. Randall can make the comic longer to fit more lines if he wanted them to be separate entries. Sorry, there is no room for debate here. Normally I wouldn't make such changes/decisions so unilaterally, but this is so beyond question that I know there's no room for error, it's safe to proceed. How can I say this so certainly with such conviction? Easy. None of the 4 words can alone reasonably replace "Perseids". They work as a team. "Percies" and "Pepsids" replaces "Perse-", "Purps" and "Peeps" replaces "-ids". "Percies" is even spelled SO similarly to "Perse-", enough that we would pronounce them the same, except for the S on "Percies"! How do you imagine the 1-syllable "Purps" and "Peeps" replaces the 3-syllable "Perseids"? Notice how "Percies" and "Pepsids" are 2 syllables each, meaning that as two teams, they're each 3-syllables replacing 3-syllables! Actually, this is true of the whole Definitely Wrong group, all are 3-syllables. IDK, maybe I'm just more used to people who mangle words, but it makes a certain sense, actually. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:25, 19 August 2023 (UTC)
::::"Sorry, there is no room for debate here." - That's the main error you make. (I repeat the "too many 'P's" as a direct counter to "too few syllables", for example. It's at least as significant an argument, based upon preceding ’words' in the list.)
:::: Might have been more fortunate if it had been something like...
:::: {|
|colspan="2"|Fulllengthitem
|-
|Longitem||Item
|-
|Item||Longitem
|}
:::: ...but it wasn't, for whatever reason. ''Maybe'' for the same aesthetic reason as made it preferable to not run "long long" and "short short" (aligned) or each to their own line with loads of trailing deadspace. So, instead, what trouble we now have? Obscured by the ambiguity... (''Unintentional'' ambiguity? Or possibly even done with full consciousness of how readers might be nerdsniped. Wouldn't put that past him, either.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.79|141.101.99.79]] 08:10, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

I think the "Pepsids Peeps" is a reference to the Pepsi x Peeps soda that got released a few months ago—the first word could be a cross between PEPSI and perseiDS. Presumably, they are very sugary meteors. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.150.46|172.68.150.46]] 12:00, 12 August 2023 (UTC)

Is someone familiar with the phonetic notation system used in the comic able to convert it to something more generally acceptable like IPA? [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 17:14, 12 August 2023 (UTC)

: It's "informal", and seems to be similar to the wikipedia one. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.54|198.41.238.54]] 01:50, 13 August 2023 (UTC)
No "per-seed"? I once heard a newscaster say it that way. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 18:38, 12 August 2023 (UTC)
:I heard a BBC newsreader say "PER-sid" yesterday. As though it were a compound of "perse" and "id".[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 07:41, 13 August 2023 (UTC)

Why not "per-sayds"? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.54|198.41.238.54]] 01:50, 13 August 2023 (UTC)

: I always rhymed it with “Mercedes” for some reason. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.43|172.69.71.43]] 11:09, 18 August 2023 (UTC)

It seems likely to me this is going to be regional. I was always taught "Per-SAY-ids" to be correct (EN-GB). I've never heard anyone say "PER-see-ids" or "PURSE-yids". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.218|172.70.85.218]] 09:58, 13 August 2023 (UTC)

I've been saying pur-see-IDES (where instead of ids, i say ides, like the Ides of March) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.222.253|172.71.222.253]] 19:03, 14 August 2023 (UTC)

Pepsident Media Shower [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.79|172.70.91.79]] 08:43, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

1325: Rejection

2023-08-08T15:45:08Z

172.70.90.83: /* Explanation */ Spotted (long standing?) typo.

{{comic
| number = 1325
| date = February 3, 2014
| title = Rejection
| image = rejection.png
| titletext = Perhaps you need a crash course in taking hints. Here's your first lesson: We're not actually walking somewhere together; I'm trying to leave this conversation and you're following me.
}}

==Explanation==
This strip portrays [[Cueball]]'s (and likely [[Randall]]'s) reaction to a very specific male complaint: that of self-proclaimed "nice guy" complaining about his lack of romantic success.

There's a stereotype, in popular culture, of women claiming they want to date nice guys, but actually dating men who are rude and/or treat them badly. This has given rise to a cliche about men who assume themselves to be nice guys, insisting that women reject them for being ''too nice''. In reality, there are many reasons why a person might experience a lack of romantic success, but the notion that it happens as a result of being too nice is ridiculously simplistic and self-serving.

The [[Cueball]]-like guy on the left in this picture is complaining (presumably because he has been romantically rejected) that women, as a group, are either lying or self-deluded about what they really want. Cueball's sarcastic interjection is that this very response to the situation shows a) an inability to accept rejection and b) a disrespect for both the judgment and self-awareness of any woman who isn't interested in him. This behavor is {{w|Passive-aggressive behavior|passive-aggressive}} at minimum, and arguably both arrogant and misogynistic.

The thesis of the strip appears to be that the men who complain most loudly about being rejected for being 'too nice' are generally displaying that they're less nice than they imagine. While they may not be as overtly aggressive as other guys, responding to rejection by assuming there's something wrong with the person who rejected you (or with their entire gender, as in this case), is in fact both rude and condescending. The joke is that the guy is likely not nearly as nice as he imagines, and if being impolite were truly attractive to women, he'd be much more successful romantically.

The title text continues the "conversation", with Cueball implying that he believes that the first guy is bad at taking hints. He offers a "crash course" in hint taking by clarifying outright that he is trying to end the conversation while the first guy continues to follow him.

The concept of the self-identifying "nice guy" who actually may have less than admirable motives is also explored in [[513: Friends]]. See also the concept of "negging" as used in [[1027: Pickup Artist]]: ''you belittle chicks to undermine their self-confidence so they'll be more vulnerable and seek your approval''.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is walking, and a Cueball-like guy follows him.]
:Guy: Women ''say'' they want nice guys, but what they ''really'' want are—
:Cueball: —Guys who respond to rejection by belittling their judgment and self-awareness?
:Cueball: If so, don't worry — you'll be ''fine.''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]