Difference between revisions of "28: Elefino"

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Jump to: navigation, search
(Explanation)
(Well try not to delete info)
 
(7 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 3: Line 3:
 
| date      = November 14, 2005
 
| date      = November 14, 2005
 
| title    = Elefino
 
| title    = Elefino
| before   = <big><big><span class="plainlinks">[https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063505/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=20#:~:text=Monday%27s%20Drawing%20%2D%20Elefino Original title</span>]: '''Monday's Drawing - Elefino'''</big></big>
+
| ognumber  = 32
 +
| ogtitle  = Monday's Drawing - Elefino
 +
| oglink   = https://web.archive.org/web/20060529063505/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=20#:~:text=Monday%27s%20Drawing%20%2D%20Elefino
 +
| ogprev    = 29
 +
| ognext    = 31
 
| image    = elefino.jpg
 
| image    = elefino.jpg
 
| titletext = Hell if I know
 
| titletext = Hell if I know
 
}}
 
}}
 +
 +
This was the thirty-second comic [[LiveJournal|originally posted to LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[29: Hitler]], and the next one was [[31: Barrel - Part 5]].
  
 
==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
This was the thirty-second comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[29: Hitler]], and the next one was [[31: Barrel - Part 5]].
+
This comic presents a common joke or riddle in the format of "What do you get when you cross ''x'' with ''y''?", giving three answers. The first answer is in the title of the comic, "Elefino". "Elephino" is a {{w|portmanteau}} of the words "'''eleph'''ant" and "rh'''ino'''". The second answer is in the title text, "Hell if I know". As with many of the earlier comics, the title text explains the joke rather than adding to it. While it may seem like a normal phrase, reading it aloud at a fast pace makes a sound similar to "Elephino". The third answer in in the comic itself, "I haven't a goddamn clue". This still conveys the same meaning as the title text, but it ruins the joke instead of giving the punchline, because saying it aloud doesn't reveal the answer.  
 
The title text and the title are both a play on sounds, both sounding like each other and in the different spellings give a literal answer to the riddle, "Eliphino". And a different phrasing of the original answer, "Hell if I know", which, when spoken out loud, sounds like the title of this comic, "Elefino". "Elephino" is a {{w|portmanteau}} of the words "'''eleph'''ant" and "rh'''ino'''".  
 
 
 
The comic presents a common joke starter, where you put to random objects together to a pun. "What do you get if you cross a duck with a firework" (a firequaker) Instead of giving a pun, the comic goes a more literal direction and unexpectedly says, "I haven't a goddamn clue", which still conveys the same meaning but ruins the joke instead of giving the punchline. As with many of the earlier comics, the title text explains the joke rather than adding to it.
 
  
This word play is reminiscent of the final scene in {{w|Buster Keaton}}'s 1921 short film ''{{w|The Boat (1921 film)|The Boat}}'' in which the titular boat is named the ''Damfino'', a word play on "Damn if I know." Keaton answers his wife's question "Where are we?" by mouthing the name of the boat in the final scene. The filmmakers relied on audiences to read Keaton's lips, as his answer was not intertitled.
+
This word play is reminiscent of the final scene in {{w|Buster Keaton}}'s 1921 short film ''{{w|The Boat (1921 film)|The Boat}}'' in which the titular boat is named the ''Damfino'', a word play on "Damn if I know".  Keaton answers his wife's question "Where are we?" by mouthing the name of the boat in the final scene. The filmmakers relied on audiences to read Keaton's lips, as his answer was not intertitled.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==

Latest revision as of 06:57, 2 May 2025

Elefino
Hell if I know
Title text: Hell if I know

This was the thirty-second comic originally posted to LiveJournal. The previous one was 29: Hitler, and the next one was 31: Barrel - Part 5.

Explanation[edit]

This comic presents a common joke or riddle in the format of "What do you get when you cross x with y?", giving three answers. The first answer is in the title of the comic, "Elefino". "Elephino" is a portmanteau of the words "elephant" and "rhino". The second answer is in the title text, "Hell if I know". As with many of the earlier comics, the title text explains the joke rather than adding to it. While it may seem like a normal phrase, reading it aloud at a fast pace makes a sound similar to "Elephino". The third answer in in the comic itself, "I haven't a goddamn clue". This still conveys the same meaning as the title text, but it ruins the joke instead of giving the punchline, because saying it aloud doesn't reveal the answer.

This word play is reminiscent of the final scene in Buster Keaton's 1921 short film The Boat in which the titular boat is named the Damfino, a word play on "Damn if I know". Keaton answers his wife's question "Where are we?" by mouthing the name of the boat in the final scene. The filmmakers relied on audiences to read Keaton's lips, as his answer was not intertitled.

Transcript[edit]

Q: What do you get when you cross an Elephant with a Rhino?
[Picture of elephant, mathematical addition symbol, picture of rhino, equals sign, large question mark.]
A: I haven't a goddamn clue.

comment.png  Add comment      new topic.png  Create topic (use sparingly)     refresh discuss.png  Refresh 

Discussion

I would say that you get something Relephant --Akres141.101.92.41 12:11, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

That's probably relevant 141.101.104.102 05:34, 15 December 2016 (UTC)

I feel like the comparison to Back to the Future is rather pointless, so I'm going to delete it. OriginalName (talk) 04:58, 4 August 2017 (UTC)

Elefino is the name of a restaurant in the animated series Bojack Horseman. They make the same pun as this comic. I wonder if the writers of the show had read this comic a decade earlier? 172.70.54.96 (talk) 18:22, 15 June 2021‎ (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
      comment.png  Add comment