Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for February 20, 2020

I’m not sure I get this one.

Analog clocks. With the minute hand pointing straight up at 12. A term no longer used. I’m guessing that you’re maybe under 40?

I get it, but I don’t know why Janis wouldn’t.

It just means exactly that time, I used to use that expression all the time.

I wonder how many people under the age of 30 would get this one. I probably own 10 wrist watches, and I never seem to put one on any more.

Janis is getting dressed in panel one. Me thinks she first thought Arlo was making an off-color reference, which, given he is already dressed, didn’t make sense.

When we are going some where the wife never asks me what time it is, she just let’s me know when she’s ready to go and we get there when we get there.

I think this is another instance of Janis having embraced new tech and its expressions and Arlo still using the old ones. It took her a second to recall the reference to analog clocks.

It’s a reference to one of those old timey gadgets with hands instead of digital displays.

I get what it means, but it’s not funny. I like some humor.

My answer to her would have been, “Do you mean now?” I always liked that Berra_ism.

Oh…. I didn’t realize that was a clock and honestly thought he was referring to something else that is straight up in the morning.

Voh-dee-oh-doh, Arlo!

My take is that in the digital age, analogue analogies like “straight up” (big hand on the 12) are forgotten!

As opposed to on the rocks.

and why do we still refer to “taping” something, like our TV shows. No-one uses “tape” anymore for recording.

My kids were confused if I reported the time with words like “half-past” and “quarter-of”…

you need to get your mind in the gutter

“straight up” must be regional…asked dad, never heard of straight up, here we say 7 o’clock SHARP or on the dot

I think he’s referring to the Winter “hair-do”. Static electricity has Janis’ hair sticking straight up…

Interesting that the comics, like this one, that are not “clear”, seem to get the most comments…

My local big box Fred Meyer store doesn’t sell wrist watches any more. Due to carpal tunnel, I can’t wear watches, but I glue one to a carabiner and wear it on a belt clip.

I was going to compare using a phone to tell the time with using a pocket watch, but then I remembered that for lots of young people the phone never leaves their hands.

I’ve noticed that the digital generation usually gives the time in exact minutes while those of us that grew up with clocks tend to round time, even when reading it from a digital timepiece. Digital time readers also often do not get “half past xxx” and “quarter ’till xxx” time references until they are explained.

7 o’clock “On the.dot” .was.about watches with no numbers,just dots in place of the numbers…​Some wall clocks only had.12,3,6 and 9,all the rest were just a dot.

Do A&J still have jobs that they have to get up early for? I was starting to think they’re retired.