Jan 15th – Family Circus & Sledding

Hello everyone!

Today’s comic is a Family Circus that highlights a fun winter sport. 

Comic Breakdown

Billy is going sledding. 

Why is this funny?

Billy is using a skateboard to go sledding.  Many would consider this weird and others would consider this smart. 

Though you could use a skateboard to go sledding most people would not.  A very popular alternative to use as a sled are cardboard boxes.  You can go down a hill in a box as is or you can reshape it into a sled shape.

What is sledding?

Sledding is a worldwide winter sport, activity, and form of transportation.  Using a sled, a person may slide down a hill, mountain or steep ground.  Sleds are flat board devices made out of wood, plastic or metal. 

Wooden Sled

 Plastic Sled

Sledding is a popular winter sport in many parts of the world; especially in North America and Europe. 

Sledding goes by different names in different parts of the English world. 

Other popular names for the sport in English are sledging or tobogganing.

In other languages, sledding goes by the names of:

French (Français): Luge

Swedish (Svenska): Kälksport

Polish (Polski): Sanki

German (Deutsch): Rodeln

Today’s images are from here, here, here, here, here, and here .

Jan 13th – Dilbert & Blowing Off Steam

Hello everyone!

Today’s comic is Dilbert.   

Comic Breakdown

“My computer kept locking up, so I had to let off some steam.” – Alice

“You can’t fix your computer by punching it!” – Pointy Haired Boss

“Why would I punch my computer?  That’s crazy.” – Alice

“Alice?” – Male Colleague

What is going on?

Alice was getting very upset at work because her computer kept stopping.  The specific word to describe her emotion would be “frustration”.  Therefore Alice had to let out her anger by punching (hitting) something.  She hit a computer screen. 

What does “steam” mean?

The word steam means water in an invisible gas form.

As slang, the word steam means anger or strong emotions of negativity.

When one says that they are letting off steam, they are being figurative by comparing themselves to a kettle that has reached its boiling point.

                                            

To relieve pressure (the feeling of frustration) a person, like a kettle, must let off steam!

The phrase, “letting off steam” or “blowing off steam” is a popular figure of speech.   You use both expressions to describe when you need to do something to relieve yourself when you feel upset or stressed about something. 

Why is this funny?

Alice let go of anger (blew off steam) by punching a computer screen.  But it was not her computer screen.  If she punched and broke her own computer how could she do her job?  Instead, she punched her colleague’s computer screen!

Today’s images are from here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Jan 9th – Family Circus & Snow Birds

Hello everyone!

Many parts of Canada and the United States are in the middle of a very cold January right now!

Today’s comic is a Family Circus with a theme of escape from the cold climate.    

Comic Breakdown

“Grandma says a lot of her friends are like the birds.  They fly south for the winter.” 

– Dolly to her brother Jeffy

What are they talking about?

In the winter, many elderly and retired North Americans love to vacation and live in a warmer climate for a few weeks to months. 

A popular region to go to is the American south.  Many people love to vacation in the states of Florida and Arizona.   

 Map of the Southern United States

The nickname for these people is snow birds.  Like birds from a colder climate, they migrate (go) south for the winter.

Today’s images are from here, here, here, here, and here. 

Jan 7th – Hi & Lois and Synonyms

Hello everyone!

Today’s comic is Hi & Lois featuring the topic of synonyms.

Comic Breakdown

“It sure is breezy and blustery today, isn’t it, Trixie?” – Lois speaking to Trixie

“Yeah and it’s windy too!” – Trixie’s thoughts about Lois’ comments on the weather

What is going on?

Three different words with the same basic meaning have been used in this comic.   They are breezy, blustery, and windy. 

The words breezy and blustery are synonyms of the word (verb) windy.  Though breezy and blustery have the same basic meaning as the word windy they are not identical in meaning but similar in meaning. 

Breezy: a light and easy wind

Blustery: a very strong wind

Windy: exposure to wind (any type of wind)

Synonyms are words that are similar or the same in meaning.  In some situations synonyms may have an identical meaning to another word and in other situations they only share a similar definition.  It all depends on the context.  When looking up synonyms, you use a thesaurus rather than a dictionary.  

Example of Synonyms

It is good to use synonyms because it makes you less repetitive and therefore creates more interesting conversations and better writing.

In conclusion…

The day was summarized by Trixie as being windy.

Today’s images are from here, here, here, here, and here.

Jan 5th – Family Circus & Malapropism: Sleep vs Steep

Hello everyone!

Today’s comic is Family Circus featuring the topic of malapropism.

Comic Breakdown

“Be very quiet, Jeffy.  Grandma’s tea has to sleep for three minutes.” – Dolly to her brother Jeffy

What is going on?

Dolly has mixed up two similar sounding words with two completely different meanings.  This is a malapropism. 

She mixed up “sleeping” with the word “steeping”.

What does steeping mean?

Steeping is when you soak something, usually food, in a liquid. 

Steeping one’s tea is when one soaks tea leaves or a tea bag in hot water for several minutes in order to increase the taste and flavour of the drink. 

What did Dolly mean to actually say?

“Be very quiet, Jeffy.  Grandma’s tea has to steep for three minutes”

To read more about malapropisms, click here and here.

Today’s images are from here, here, and here.  

Jan 1st – Family Circus & Calling it

Happy New Year Everyone! 

Many people around the world are tired today because almost everyone stays up late on New Year’s Eve (Dec 31st) to celebrate the New Year at 12 midnight.  Today's comic, Family Circus, highlights this.  

Comic Breakdown

“That’s it, I’m tired.  I’m gonna call it a year.” – Billy speaking to himself

What is going on?

Billy is tired so he has decided to go to bed and sleep. 

Why is he “calling it a year?”

Billy has been up late because it was New Year’s Eve.  There is a popular expression, “calling it a day”.  This means one is declaring the day to be over.  In Billy’s case, because it is the end of one year and the start of the next one he is declaring the year to be over.

What does “calling it” mean?

Call has two meanings.  The most commonly used and understood meaning is to get in contact with someone by saying their name out loud when you see them or to pick up the phone and literally “call” them in order to speak to them.

The second meaning of “call” is figurative and means to declare something.  The word “call” is popularly used in many expressions today when one is declaring a fact or opinion.

Ex) Calling it a day – Stating or deciding it is the end of the day (literally or figuratively)

Ex) Calling it – Declaring the end of something

Ex) Calling the race – Declaring the end of a competition (athletic, political, etc.) when there is no clear winner and one must be chosen

Ex) Calling it off - Declaring something to be cancelled (usually an event or deal) 

Today’s images are from here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Dec 31st – New Year’s Eve

Hello everyone!

Today’s comic is Family Circus. 

Comic Breakdown

“Mommy says we get to have midnight at 9 o’clock!” – Dolly to her brothers

What is midnight?

Midnight is also known as 12 o’clock at night or the 24^th hour of the day if you follow the 24 hour clock.  Midnight is the end of one day and the start of the next.  In this case, midnight is the end of one year and the start of the next.

What is going on?

The children are celebrating the New Year!  It is New Year’s Eve, the night before the New Year which starts at 12 midnight.  But because the children are young and need to sleep early they must celebrate earlier in the night at 9 o’clock instead of 12 o’clock. 

Today's images are from here, here, here, and here.