Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for August 01, 2024

Next time, let it go, Rat. Let it go.

I always wondered how Rat has the strength to throw someone twice his size off a cliff. More cartoon physics.

RIP Neighbor Bob.

Too bad Bob didn’t have mad evasive skillz.

Why did Bob go with Rat to the cliff? That wasn’t very Wile E of him.

Firstly, I can’t stand people who say firstly when they mean first.

Second, when did people start pronouncing route as rowt. The word has always been pronounced root. A rout (pronounced rowt) is a military disaster. What are you, a bunch of hillbillies?

Third, why do so many people pronounce kilometre (or kilometer) ki-lohmeter? It’s pronounced kilo-meter as in one thousand meters. Nobody says mi-limeter or cen-timeter. Nobody weighs 90 ki-lograms.

Most people already know not to say literally when they mean figuratively.

Rant off. No cliffs nearby.

You have to say skill set now. In this day and age, saying you have skills means something entirely different.

Keep up the good work, Rat.

Rat has a very particular set of skills, that make him a nightmare for people like neighbor Bob.

“Skill set” is like “price point.”

Senseless waste of human life.

Wow, what would he have done if neighbor Bob had a pair of dimes?

Now they need to hire TWO guys.

I remember when paradigm was the work word.

I need a new cliff. I threw a “pronoun” guy the other day and he just walked away… I mean she… or it… they?.. :D

Great skill set you’ve got there, Rat! :D

Why use one word when you can appropriate innumerable multifarious words?

He seems to have agreed. Rat got him from the cafe’ to the cliff. Hopefully he was a defense lawyer.

I’m hoping they’re like lemmings.

Other annoying things people say: “Haven’t seen you for a minute” when they mean “for a while”“reach out” when they just mean “contact”And, dating back all the way to the ’70s but still going strong: “The thing of it is, is…”

I’m with rat on this one…

Rat’s and Pastis’ “cliff notes”!

Price point was another irritating unnecessary term, when they could just say price.

Yes, like saying “finalize” instead of “finish”; “utilize” instead of “use”; and taking “medication” instead of “medicine.”

I never did understand set theory.

Even if they have the skill set many won’t want the job unless it allows them to work from home.

The phrase “skill set” has been plaguing us for a heckuva lot longer than 10 years.

Bravo, Rat! Throw them all off the cliff.

I think I agree with you this time, Rat. But I am disappointed there was no Wilhelm scream. Of course that is not your fault.

That’s a precipice, not a cliff. Go collect him and try again.

Now do one about signage.

Being Rat’s neighbor may be hazardous to your health.

And yet neighbor Bob keeps showing back up in future strips. Must not be much of a cliff.

I wonder if Rat feels the same way about the phrase ‘price point’? Because ..yeah, throw him off a cliff.

This is for the people who think the plural of “process” is pronounced “process-ease.”

I brain stormed it and I agree with rat on this one.

Probably not a good idea to have that coffee shop/diner/whatever so close to a cliff.

That should make room for another opening in the company.

Perhaps they could use someone with Rat’s skill se … uh skills.

Homicide? Always hilarious.

Thank you Rat!

In the last 20 years I have heard so many HR psychobabble terms that deserve the same punishment, and for the life of me I cannot think of an example right now. I guess it’s because I’m a “seasoned employee” who is only a couple years short of “starting a new personal chapter”…………i.e. I’m an old fart who’s counting the days to retirement.

I think you can still say skills but you would need to be specific as to what type of skills. Skill set implies specificity

There is nothing as bad as using the word “like” repeated in a single sentence

Rat is really picky when it comes to terminology.

I’m actually going to have to agree with Neighbor Bob. Baking macarons is a skill, as is knowledge of calculus. However, baking isn’t a member of the set of skills necessary to be a rocket scientist. To me, a skill set is a pre-defined list of skills required for a position or task.

The cliff needs to be a lot taller or Bob will be back in the strip again.

This is such a reasonable solution. Why can’t our political leaders address these issues the way Rat does?

Hmmm … ’ Throwing People Off Cliffs ‘ … Now! THAT’S a Skill Set!! … :)

Thank you, Rat! Except that term was used 20 yrs ago in the same context.

Oh… I dunno… maybe a BIT of an overreaction?

…Rat for President…

My favorite is now mandatory use of “ older adult.” As opposed to “older child?” “Younger adult?”

Someone annoying you? Throw them off a cliff! Soon there will only be one person left.

No. Today’s operative is “Under the bus”!

Oh, c’mon, Rat; I’m just spitballing here, but at the end of the day, maybe he was just proactively leveraging his core competencies with a strong bias to action.

A word that really bugs me is ‘webinar’, to me that is just ugly.

Fueled by rage

Well, at this point in time…

Ironically, he works at a company called SKILSAW.

it’s not often I agree with Rat, but I’ll make an exception this time!

He’s tough but fair.

The term “skill set” isn’t new. I first heard it about 25 or 30 years ago.

Skill set, paradigm shift, unpack, drill down, sea change, hone (never “home”) in, ‘supposably’, it-is-what-it-is, 6 of 1, what-ever, I mean…, so…, ya know…, ectcetera…

Lazy language.

Only in cartoons are cliffs so easy to find.

“skills” implies being good at a single thing. “basketball skills”, for example.

“skill set” implies having several things one is good at, not just pertaining to job duties. If you are good at basketball, programming computers, and underwater basket weaving, you have a diverse “skill set”.

The one that grinds my gears is “going forward” to replace " in the future" or “from now on”. Nothing really wrong with it I guess but it sounds and makes me want to slap people. No, I’ve not done that, just really wanted to.

Blame it on the movie Taken.

Another annoying business-speak when discussing a vision for future plans is then someone will ask “What does that look like?”Totally redundant nonsense. It is like telling someone your ETA from a journey and then they ask “when will that be?”

Rat — especially his cliff throwing offfa - has a great skill set. ;)

Rat is so cool!

Rat gets triggered too easily

Hmm, should we hire a guy with a great skill set? I don’t know. A guy with a lousy skill set would probably work a bit cheaper. . . .

Well, that wasn’t a cliffhanger at all.

Most of the people who talk like that sit in private offices with doors that lock. Avoiding contact with the lesser laboring lifeforms who are under the delusion they are also human.

set the record straight Rat and nice throw.

Rat exhibits an essential skill set of his own.

Just because your skill set isn’t what employers want, Rat.

Is that cliff made of fiber-reinforced concrete, or carbon fiber, or what? That tiny little tip held up rat and pretentious guy. I know, I know, cartoon physics.

Can you also toss off the people who use “gift” as a verb instead of “give” and “gifted” instead of “gave”?

Another good example of how all the stupid ideas begin at the top in corporations and get implemenred by H.R.!

For once I’m with Rat. It’s not only pretentious jargon, it’s mind-numbingly stodgy.

As per Cartoon Physics 202, there’s always a plump and comfy mattress at the bottom of the cliff. :)

Can we also do Price Point? Please?

Classic, pedantic Rat.

Rat has a particular set of skills. A skillset, if you will.

What does Rat think about the use of “leverage” as a synonym for “reuse”?

Set theory is a skill.

I suspect “skill set“ is yet another annoying and unnecessary tech word to sound sophisticated and modern. Those who use that phrase sound like machines.