Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for April 26, 2024

First version I saw of this joke was “Man Eating Tiger” on I Love Lucy.

I guess the thought of someone eating octopus caused Pig to run away in disgust.

At least it’s not a "Pig Eating Octopus "

Pig should be relieved that it’s not a man eating pork.

Back in the day, a sideshow at the nearby city’s annual event had a (s’truth) “man-eating chicken”.

Anglisc imprecise is? Nay!!

Since Pig is porcine, he shouldn’t care if there was a man eating octopus!

It would be very clear in Lojban, but oh my god, you don’t want to learn Lojban. ( Respect to anyone here that studied Lojban. )

Just like an old Danger Mouse (old British cartoon) line: “I once saw a man eating cabbage!”

“Where?”

“At the Wilsden Green Cafe!”

Me is never goings to understandeeng Engleesh.

In Italy, we would freak out like pig too! Not because of a man-eating octopus. But because the octopus doesn’t appear to have any condimento…not even a lemon wedge?!! AHHHHHHH!!!!! THERE’S A MAD MAN, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

So Impercise it’s Impressive.

My parents went to Italy once, and while they were there, they went to a restaurant and mom ordered octopus. It was made into some kind of stew, and mom really liked it, so, when they went to another restaurant later, she ordered octopus again. This time, though, it was served something like in the third panel. It disgusted her so much that she couldn’t eat anything. She shouldn’t have to us that story, since, after that, she could never complain about us being picky eaters.

Maybe he is a Panda too! Eats, shoots and leaves.

watch out for the printer’s ink.

Even punctuation is essential in English, especially commas. “I enjoy cooking, my family and my pets” vastly differs from “I enjoy cooking my family and my pets”… and the only difference is one comma.

Tastes like chicken. Goes down like spaghetti.

And that’s why context is very important.

Eats shoots and leaves.

Let’s eat Grandma!

Commas, they can be a matter of life and death.

Punctuation saves lives.

Now that’s funny

In spoken language, you would not be aware of the hyphen so misunderstanding the message is understandable. In print, putting in the hyphen would be deliberately misleading as man-eating and man eating do not have the same meaning.

The English language is a precision tool if used by competent people. Pastis is an expert. When he uses the English language, it is a finely honed edged weapon controlled by a fencing master.

Some are, umm, less than competent. When used by the less-than-competent, the English language becomes a blunt instrument. Fencing masters chop blunt instrument users into very small pieces.

Could never eat one again after watching the documentary: “My Octopus Teacher”. They are so smart and even affectionate!

I mean, that might actually be scarier than a man-eating octopus.

Ah, so he’s an octopus-eating man.

English is imprecise. That’s what makes it pun!

Octopus and bran muffins have this in common – the longer you chew them, the bigger they get.

Walk into your local KFC and yell, “Lookout, there’s a man eating chicken!!!”

Food that really sticks to your ribs

I enjoy cooking my family and my dog.

(commas are important)

It’s funnier when spoken because you don’t see the hyphen.

Why does pig worry, he is not a man

My favorite Peruvian place makes a ceviche with baby octopus. Little tiny tentacles and the crunchy beak.

Mouse, Pig, and Goat should be safe if it is a Man-eating octopus.

It a) affects b) effects all of us! (pick one)

Umm… the Red Wings did not make the playoffs this time around. Why are we worried about octopii this time of year?

After learning that octopuses are possibly sentient, I no longer eat them.

Could have been a man-eating pig. :DShould have been a man-eating pig. :D

This cartoon is offensive to Octopodes everywhere. Shame on you, Pastis!

I had that same reaction when I tried to eat alligator

Worst James Bond title ever: Octopussy.

At a McCormick&Schmick’s in Seattle, I had barracuda. First and last time I ever saw it on a menu

but even if it really was a maneating octopus, why would anything other than a man need to be concerned??

Re-emphasizing the statement by Croc Holliday, the hyphen in the strip made the meaning very clear. The joke failed.

Why does the octopus emoji mean? Asking for a friend.

It is useful to hide private information.

Many decades ago, the late Burl Ives sang a song about a “man-eating shark” that would eat neither woman nor child. (You can find it if you search YouTube for “chivalrous shark”.)

There is a difference between “man-eating octopus” and “man eating octopus”.

Stephan wrote the former but drew the later.

Should have been a GIANT man eating octopus.

We’re going to the baby doctor today.

Why did he run, he’s a pig. It was not a pig eating octopus.

When a noun is used to describe another noun, it’s called a “nominal adjective”; for example, “rope burn” or “building permit”. But suppose you have an actual adjective in front of two nouns. Which noun does it modify? That’s where the hyphen comes in handy. If you’ve got a “used pizza container”, you’ve got a greasy box; if you’ve got a “used-pizza container”, you’ve got a barf bag.

This the exact reason when I go to a seafood resturant, I order shark. Turnabout is fair play. Be careful, Sherman.

007

An oldie but a goodie.

The octopus looks raw or undercooked; the guy didn’t even grill it or pour olive oil on it. Tsk, tsk.

Old joke, “a man-eating chicken!”