169: Words that End in GRY

2013-04-25T20:38:55Z

66.46.112.60: Changed explanation to refer to how the mistelling in the comic is intentional. Added history on the GRY joke and why it was commonly mistold.

{{comic
| number = 169
| date = October 11, 2006
| title = Words that End in GRY
| image = words_that_end_in_gry.png
| titletext = The fifth panel also applies to postmodernists.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a reference to a famous mistelling of a (fairly stupid) joke. The correct original telling of the joke should be:
*''Think of words ending in 'g' 'r' 'y'). "Angry" and "Hungry" are two of them. There are only three words in "the English language." What is the third word? Hint: The word is something that everyone uses everyday. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is.''
Phrased this way, the reason the answer is "Language" is because "There are only three words in 'the English language.'"

However, this joke is often mistold by misphrasing the original riddle as it is in the comic. By instead saying "There are three words in the English language that end in 'gry'", the teller of the joke has actually removed ANY chance of determining the correct answer. Many people who were stumped by the original joke and would ask their friends for help, but when they did so, they would tell the joke incorrectly as they were unaware of what the answer was.

As such, when [[Cueball]] attempts to say the answer is "language" and act smug about it, [[Black Hat]] decides that "Communicating badly then acting smug when you're misunderstood is not cleverness" and cuts the Cueball's arm off.

Wikipedia has an entire page devoted to the -GRY joke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-gry)

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat and Cueball are standing next to each other.]
:Cueball: There are three words in the English language that end in "gry". "Angry" and "Hungry" are two. What's the third?
:Black Hat: I don't think there is one, unless you count really obscure words.
:Cueball: Ha! It's "language"! I said there are three words in "the English--"
:[Black Hat grabs Cueball's hand with a ''GRAB''.]
:Cueball: What th-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
:[Black Hat slices off Cueball's hand with a knife.]
:Black Hat: Ok, listen carefully.
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball is bleeding profusely.]
:Black Hat: Communicating badly then acting smug when you're misunderstood is not cleverness.
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
:Black Hat: I hope we've learned something today.
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

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169: Words that End in GRY