Editing 1661: Podium
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|More on the info in the title text and links to dictionaries should be real links.}} | |
− | A "{{w| | + | A "{{w|podium}}" in most of the world is a small platform like the one shown in the comic [http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/podium]. This word originates from Greek ''podion'' meaning ''foot''. |
− | + | A "{{w|lectern}}" in all English speaking countries is a stand for holding notes, like the one shown in the comic [http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/lectern]. In American English this stand may be also called a ''podium'' [http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/lectern], which is not backed up by etymology. | |
− | + | The comic is playing on a stereotypical politician, without any real beliefs, here represented by [[Cueball]] without any features, but they want to appear to stand for something. Alternatively, this is what might happen if someone like Cueball (or the strip's author Randall), who tend to think literally and who get interested in and distracted by tangents, were running. | |
− | + | Thus, Cueball picks up what is, in some American circles, an argument: whether the standing desk used by public speakers should be called a "podium" or a "lectern." This argument is actually common among members of {{w|Toastmasters International}}, though it would usually not rise to the level of needing to be part of a national discourse. | |
− | The | + | The literal distinction between podium and lectern (or the proper word to call "this thing") is not obvious from context, when the meaning of ''podium'' has drifted in American use to refer to the small standing desk, i.e. the lectern. |
− | + | Sometimes, [http://www.platformgiant.com/podium-vs-lectern people care about this]. The fact is, though the etymological definition is clear (the lectern is the desk that stands on the podium), and the difference might be important if you were setting up an auditorium, in common American usage it really doesn't matter. | |
− | The title text | + | The title text implies that Cueball moves ahead with his promised research and ends up coming out on the side of calling it a podium. This leads to the people who follow the prescriptivist position to organize and put forward a political candidate to challenge Cueball in the {{w|primaries}}. In the U.S., the primaries are used to select a single candidate from a particular party to represent that party at final election (whether national or on a state level). |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
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[[Category:Politics]] | [[Category:Politics]] | ||
[[Category:Language]] | [[Category:Language]] |