Talk:2825: Autumn and Fall

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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Who calls it the "fall equinox"? I thought the equinoctes were always described as "vernal" and "autumnal"? Mathmannix (talk) 19:11, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
Americans sometimes call it the fall equinox casually 172.71.158.100 19:56, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
In American English, "fall equinox" contrasts with "spring equinox" in the same way "summer solstice" contrasts with "winter solstice." The Latinate names are "autumnal equinox," "hibernal solstice," "vernal equinox," and "estival solstice," but since British English lost its non-Latinate name for the fall, the term "autumnal equinox" has to do double duty. The Latinate names are rather more common for equinoxes than solstices, but all four names are used. Also used are "September equinox," "December solstice," "March equinox," and "June solstice" if the context doesn't let you commit to one hemisphere or the other. 108.162.216.74 09:20, 7 September 2023 (UTC)
WRT the alt text, perhaps this is a woosh moment, but "fall" isn't at all common in British parlance. We know it, but only as an Americanism of what we would just call "Autumn". 172.68.19.103 20:55, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
That's the joke. Just as Americans don't typically use "autumn", the UK does not use "fall". 172.69.34.12 21:45, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

What "type of five-season system shown in the comic"? The comic doesn't show five-season system. It shows EIGHT season system. We just only know names of five of them. -- Hkmaly (talk) 23:17, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

That's the point, though: if the English language had an 8-season system, we'd have 8 names for them — but we only have 5. 162.158.110.225 07:05, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

I think the statement "nowhere uses the type of five-season system shown in the comic." deserves an actual "citation needed" and not the joke one. Personally I didn't know about the six season thing in South Asia so it's not obvious that noone uses 5 seasons. Bischoff (talk) 11:07, 7 September 2023 (UTC)