Talk:1704: Gnome Ann

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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The lotr reference is about the Witch King of Angmar instead of Sauron Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-king_of_Angmar

162.158.196.143 05:05, 8 July 2016 (UTC)Dege

I'm surprised there's no reference to Polyphemus from Homer's Odyssey. Or is there one that I haven't seen?

162.158.85.165 08:00, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

I saw the first panel, and honestly thought the pun was between Gnome Ann and the gnomon of a sundial. The rest made pretty clear of what's up, though.

Exactly! 162.158.114.218 15:34, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

108.162.219.5 10:01, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Between the trenches: Gnome Ann's land. 172.68.10.34 11:29, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Great comic. I really like this one. The idea is old but is put into new perspective with the drawings. Guess this can be made in different languages. Have seen one in Danish where a person was named Ingens = no one. So if something was owned by no one it was his... Must admit I did not get it until the Star Trek reference but I'm not native English and had to try it out to hear the no man in gnome ann where I would also pronounce the g hard although not for the reason mentioned in the explanation but because the Danish word Gnom is pronounced like that and not like nome. We need a Star Trek category I would say! --Kynde (talk) 14:26, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Done! --Kynde (talk) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

It might still be considered a 'literary quotation' but, strictly speaking, the line "I am no man" is from the movie. The original dialogue in the book isn't quite that simple, and the "Gnome Ann" joke probably wouldn't work. 162.158.214.220 14:28, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Given that it depicts the scene from the movie that is a perfect quote for this comic. --Kynde (talk) 15:42, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Language Log has more of these. .42 (talk) 15:34, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann is an island. --108.162.237.211 16:39, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

I could not resist. greptalk18:31, 08 July 2016 (UTC)

Do you think Gnome Ann does double crit damage? She is no man, and she is Gnome Ann. 162.158.214.149 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

Re: The last paragraph of the explanation, is this false splitting, which seems to involve historical changes in words by dividing in the wrong place, or is this a mondegreen? The example which came first to mind is Jimi Hendrix, from Purple Haze : "Excuse me while I kiss (this guy / the sky)." I'm not nearly enough of a grammarian to be sure about the distinction. Miamiclay (talk) 02:25, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

It is a mondegreen, but there definitely is a false splitting there also: "the sky" becomes "this guy", the 's' migrates from the latter word to the former. 172.68.11.87 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

"Gnome Ann mistakenly thinks that 'no man' is actually a reference to her own name." Citation needed. I see no reason to think that she is mistaken about anything. She's not a man; she's not even human. 198.41.238.32 08:47, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

Gnome Ann threatens a messenger. 141.101.104.37 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

These comments above belong in Gnome Ann's land :-D --Kynde (talk) 20:53, 9 July 2016 (UTC)

"Our Mission: To boldly go where Gnome Ann has gone before." Maybe the dangerous part is Gnome Ann still lurking around? 198.41.243.238 08:06, 10 July 2016 (UTC)