No doubt about it… Skye is about as subtle as a kick in the butt from a steel-toed boot.
March 28, 2015 at 8:23 pm
Kevin M
Tucker kinda looks like a young Burt Reynolds.
March 29, 2015 at 9:34 am
xdcpd085
Kinda young lookin’ to have “growed up with” Zed, ain’t he?
March 29, 2015 at 11:10 am
Kevin
“It’s not the years…it’s the mileage.”
March 28, 2015 at 8:34 pm
Little-Acorn
“Boring sister”, Sam ain’t.
March 28, 2015 at 8:47 pm
Grunt GI
heh…lotta temptation goin’ on at that ranch house…I’d say there’s gonna be a lotta “save a horse, ride a cowboy” happenin’ tonight!
March 28, 2015 at 10:33 pm
B Woodman
Definitely one “stud” will be rode tonight. As for the second, that’s up to the sheriff. Skye needs to learn some subtlety (see first comment above). She could chase the sheriff away with too bold an approach.
I wonder how Skye is at fishing? I’m guessing, not very, if habits carry over from one activity to another.
March 29, 2015 at 2:38 am
RegT
Maybe she’s no good at fishing, but I heard she eats the worm.
I only discovered the strip a couple of months ago, and I really like almost everything about it: the artwork, the wit and humor, and especially the underlying philosophy which is a refreshing break from the monotonous liberal/left cant of the current MSM. However, I do have a minor nit that’s been bothering me.
I had the privilege of living in Texas for over a decade back in the 80’s and early 90’s. Moreover, in my work I traveled the entire state, metro, small town and rural, and interacted with Texans of all social varieties. In fact, I consider myself more of a “Texan By Choice”, as a popular bumper sticker of the time said, than a native Tarheel. I simply don’t recall Texans using the pronoun “them” as it’s shown here.
Of course there are different Texas dialects, but from my experience (I’ve also traveled and worked extensively in other regions of the US and Canada) the way “them” is being used is far more characteristic of the rural South and more especially the Appalachian mountain areas. In short, it’s more redneck and hillbilly than Texan. 😉 And while I’ll concede that Wade and Tucker might be representative of some that speak that way in Texas, I was surprised to hear Zed, with his far more worldly travels and experiences, do so.
My apologies in advance for this long post and attempted explanation of my confusion. I haven’t had time to go back and familiarize myself with the earlier editions of the strip to know the history and whether the characters have always spoken this way. I love the strip and have been sharing it with my friends, and hope it’s audience will continue to grow. The way things are headed we’re in dire need of both humor and every counter-message we can get to the rot we’re being force-fed currently.
March 29, 2015 at 10:34 am
PaulS
I’d suggest y’all click that “First” link, and catch up on the last 12 years. 🙂
March 29, 2015 at 10:48 am
JTC
PaulS, I’m guessing you’re being ironic there since tharkun’s comment is about misplaced Southernisms.
Because you will never hear a real Southron address the singular with “ya’ll”. For that matter, Tucker’s “in the kitchen a spell” would be more at home in a script for Beverly Hillbillies, and in any case is an unlikely turn of phrase among the Boomer gen anywhere. IMO.
March 29, 2015 at 1:26 pm
GWB
Your commentary on “southernisms” is tainted if you can’t spell “y’all” properly. 😉
(And I know lots of country folk – southern or not – who would say things like “in the kitchen a spell”. Though mostly older folk.)
March 29, 2015 at 1:36 pm
SteveInCO
They’ll even say “set in the kitchen a spell” (set instead of sit.)
I have a relative-by-marriage who came from Southern Illinois and she definitely speaks that dialect, so it’s not purely Appalachian hillbilly.
March 29, 2015 at 6:38 pm
JTC
But a contraction of the Southern ya all is correctly ya’ll…only dirty bluebellied pretenders ever say “you all” ;). And of course any commentary on Southernisms is tainted without the capital “S”.
No, “All y’all” (or all ya’ll), is redundant. But it is at least an actual and pretty common Southernism.
As in…All ya’ll can kiss my ass! 😀
March 29, 2015 at 9:56 pm
Tennessee Budd
I know they’re in South Texas, & I have little experience there; my Dad was from East Texas, & he & his folks talked like my TN/KY redneck family on Ma’s side.
Tharkun, I’ve set boots on 4 continents & had varied experiences; I’m even the first man in my family, on either side, to graduate from high school & to earn a degree. I enunciate clearly, use proper grammar, and avoid slang or regional terms in professional conversations, but I’ve never had a desire to hide my accent. I sound more hillbilly around family, because they’re family, & that’s the way I grew up. I sound that way around some friends, because I’m comfortable with them, & they’re from the same general area & upbringing (even we educated engineers like to speak without faking it–I just never started faking it).
No offense intended, & none felt by me. Just letting you know.
March 29, 2015 at 10:42 am
Shonkin
I suggest you read the whole sentence.
People don’t have to be from Texas to say, “How do you like them apples?”
March 29, 2015 at 2:07 pm
tharkun
I’m familiar with the phrase “How do you like them apples?”. It’s so well-known it’s become a figure of speech, a cultural and metaphorical idiom if you will, that’s widely used in a variety of contexts; I use it myself. And, after you made the suggestion, I can see how Zed’s last sentence could be interpreted as a reference to it, sort of, but I still think that’s a bit of a stretch.
It wasn’t immediately obvious to me, though, but then I can be slow. 😉 When most people use it, however, they do so for effect, emphasis, or to make a point, in full awareness that it’s a contrived grammatical construction. and they don’t make a habit of using “them” in like manner elsewhere in their regular conversation. One thing worth considering, though, is if Chris IS using this “for effect”, to make a point so to speak, then I applaud the clever combination of dialect, idiom and Biblical allusion (snakes, apples, women, and temptation).
As I said originally, this is really a very minor thing. I apologize for coming across as an overly critical pedant; it’s a regrettable tendency of mine, and I will not be offended if you or other readers let me know when I get too carried away. In this case I was mainly motivated by curiosity as to whether others’ perceptions and recollections of how Texans talk matched mine.
March 29, 2015 at 2:21 pm
Chris Muir
hmm…
March 29, 2015 at 6:45 pm
JTC
Chris, yeah I was pretty sure after the first comment, but now there is little doubt that the Iphie fungus is among us, again.
March 29, 2015 at 7:30 pm
JTC
And it apparently fancies itself a Tolkien wizard…appropriately enough for an apparition, here today and gone…???
March 29, 2015 at 8:44 pm
tharkun
Chris, I just stopped by to check on the thread before calling it a day, and it seems I’ve offended the other posters here, and possibly you as well. That was not my intention, and I once again apologize. I have no wish to cause others any discomfort, so I won’t trouble you or your forum members again.
I also hope you’ll continue to have success with your strip as it’s quality work and something to be proud of. I will give myself leave to keep reading and enjoying it, but I’ll do so privately. Best wishes to you and your readers; as I alluded earlier, in the dire times to come, some good humor, leavened with insight and truth will be welcome indeed.
March 29, 2015 at 10:02 pm
Tennessee Budd
I posted a reply to a previous comment of yours, Tharkun, & only afterward read further.
No reason to abstain. I’m sure most other readers would welcome any intelligent poster. I said, & still say, that you didn’t offend me, & I hoped & hope to not offend you.
As for any who might be offended, well…. I’d ask folks, “How does it feel to be so weak that mere words hurt you?”
March 29, 2015 at 11:00 pm
JTC
T. Budd, I’m guessing tharkun abstaining (bailing), has more to do with her syntax exposing her than her content offending others.
March 29, 2015 at 10:21 am
Pecan Scandi
Boobs and Bacon…what can’t they do. Thanks, Chris.
March 29, 2015 at 11:57 am
Grunt GI
Can I get an “AMEN!”
March 29, 2015 at 10:37 am
JTC
Sam wants “a man to bring home the bacon.” And sausage. Bring it on home big boy…
You go, Sheriff! Skye’s promises to be a wild ride and who knows, she just may straighten up with Tucker’s influence. There’s that saying, behind every good man, there’s a good woman, but the opposite also applies, don’t you think?
March 29, 2015 at 1:28 pm
GWB
Just curious where Skye’s dress is in the second frame. Her assets seem … unrestrained in silhouette.
March 29, 2015 at 3:18 pm
BigBossOgg
BURN THE HERETIC! ahem….. One note amidst this etymological slugfest, for whomever it was that was afeared the sheriff would be spooked by poor horny Skye..? Sweet old fashioned man that he is, you’ll note that he’s reaching quite readily for bra closures that aren’t even there… yeah… the accessories might have changed somewhat, but he still knows where the key goes.
March 29, 2015 at 3:35 pm
BigBossOgg
Tharkun, your worries are for naught, the usage of them by Zed in that case was, as you said…”a clever combination of dialect, idiom and biblical allusion, snakes, Apple, women, etc”. Our man Zed is more than meets the eyes, and PaulS’s admonishment to work your way through the past decade of the strip is the best idea. Heck, the Very first strip will get you on the road to find out.
March 29, 2015 at 3:38 pm
BigBossOgg
GEB, she’s leaning over giving him a better look at the goods, I think.
March 29, 2015 at 4:10 pm
Bad Cyborg
Is it just me or is Zed startin’ to look a lot more like his dad? (AKA Katie Ross’ husband) And for that matter the sheriff reminded me a whole lot of a young, pre (hideously botched) plastic surgery Burt Reynolds – complete with shit-eatin’ grin.
March 29, 2015 at 5:00 pm
Chris Muir
Tucker is modeled off early Burt,definitely,but I forgot some grey hairs for him; he’s probably 4 years younger than Z.
March 29, 2015 at 6:23 pm
Steve H
But then, who’s to say Tucker isn’t a Grecian Formula man, especially on a date with a PYT?
March 29, 2015 at 6:27 pm
Chris Muir
Hah! Hey, is this ‘Eat what u want & Die like a Man’ SteveH?
50 Comments
No doubt about it… Skye is about as subtle as a kick in the butt from a steel-toed boot.
Tucker kinda looks like a young Burt Reynolds.
Kinda young lookin’ to have “growed up with” Zed, ain’t he?
“It’s not the years…it’s the mileage.”
“Boring sister”, Sam ain’t.
heh…lotta temptation goin’ on at that ranch house…I’d say there’s gonna be a lotta “save a horse, ride a cowboy” happenin’ tonight!
Definitely one “stud” will be rode tonight. As for the second, that’s up to the sheriff. Skye needs to learn some subtlety (see first comment above). She could chase the sheriff away with too bold an approach.
I wonder how Skye is at fishing? I’m guessing, not very, if habits carry over from one activity to another.
Maybe she’s no good at fishing, but I heard she eats the worm.
Skye’s kids are at least six weeks old, are they not!
Skye’s kids are 1 year old each
“Just you, me, and the snake.”
Ohhhh. . . .she’s talking about the CHILI!
hmmm that was my first thought too
Skye’s likely to poke the sheriff’s eyes out.
Saturday Nights All right for uh, sumtin…
Why am I thinking, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof?”
So what happened to Tucker’s moustache? He looks a little fey in that panel on the porch.
I forgot it!
Been down to the HEB, noticed they really do grown them apples larger down here in Texas…
And I repeat… Bacon Akbar!
Skye has no understanding of Sam.
I only discovered the strip a couple of months ago, and I really like almost everything about it: the artwork, the wit and humor, and especially the underlying philosophy which is a refreshing break from the monotonous liberal/left cant of the current MSM. However, I do have a minor nit that’s been bothering me.
I had the privilege of living in Texas for over a decade back in the 80’s and early 90’s. Moreover, in my work I traveled the entire state, metro, small town and rural, and interacted with Texans of all social varieties. In fact, I consider myself more of a “Texan By Choice”, as a popular bumper sticker of the time said, than a native Tarheel. I simply don’t recall Texans using the pronoun “them” as it’s shown here.
Of course there are different Texas dialects, but from my experience (I’ve also traveled and worked extensively in other regions of the US and Canada) the way “them” is being used is far more characteristic of the rural South and more especially the Appalachian mountain areas. In short, it’s more redneck and hillbilly than Texan. 😉 And while I’ll concede that Wade and Tucker might be representative of some that speak that way in Texas, I was surprised to hear Zed, with his far more worldly travels and experiences, do so.
My apologies in advance for this long post and attempted explanation of my confusion. I haven’t had time to go back and familiarize myself with the earlier editions of the strip to know the history and whether the characters have always spoken this way. I love the strip and have been sharing it with my friends, and hope it’s audience will continue to grow. The way things are headed we’re in dire need of both humor and every counter-message we can get to the rot we’re being force-fed currently.
I’d suggest y’all click that “First” link, and catch up on the last 12 years. 🙂
PaulS, I’m guessing you’re being ironic there since tharkun’s comment is about misplaced Southernisms.
Because you will never hear a real Southron address the singular with “ya’ll”. For that matter, Tucker’s “in the kitchen a spell” would be more at home in a script for Beverly Hillbillies, and in any case is an unlikely turn of phrase among the Boomer gen anywhere. IMO.
Your commentary on “southernisms” is tainted if you can’t spell “y’all” properly. 😉
(And I know lots of country folk – southern or not – who would say things like “in the kitchen a spell”. Though mostly older folk.)
They’ll even say “set in the kitchen a spell” (set instead of sit.)
I have a relative-by-marriage who came from Southern Illinois and she definitely speaks that dialect, so it’s not purely Appalachian hillbilly.
But a contraction of the Southern ya all is correctly ya’ll…only dirty bluebellied pretenders ever say “you all” ;). And of course any commentary on Southernisms is tainted without the capital “S”.
“Y’all” is singular. “All y’all” is plural.
““All y’all” is plural.”
No, “All y’all” (or all ya’ll), is redundant. But it is at least an actual and pretty common Southernism.
As in…All ya’ll can kiss my ass! 😀
I know they’re in South Texas, & I have little experience there; my Dad was from East Texas, & he & his folks talked like my TN/KY redneck family on Ma’s side.
Tharkun, I’ve set boots on 4 continents & had varied experiences; I’m even the first man in my family, on either side, to graduate from high school & to earn a degree. I enunciate clearly, use proper grammar, and avoid slang or regional terms in professional conversations, but I’ve never had a desire to hide my accent. I sound more hillbilly around family, because they’re family, & that’s the way I grew up. I sound that way around some friends, because I’m comfortable with them, & they’re from the same general area & upbringing (even we educated engineers like to speak without faking it–I just never started faking it).
No offense intended, & none felt by me. Just letting you know.
I suggest you read the whole sentence.
People don’t have to be from Texas to say, “How do you like them apples?”
I’m familiar with the phrase “How do you like them apples?”. It’s so well-known it’s become a figure of speech, a cultural and metaphorical idiom if you will, that’s widely used in a variety of contexts; I use it myself. And, after you made the suggestion, I can see how Zed’s last sentence could be interpreted as a reference to it, sort of, but I still think that’s a bit of a stretch.
It wasn’t immediately obvious to me, though, but then I can be slow. 😉 When most people use it, however, they do so for effect, emphasis, or to make a point, in full awareness that it’s a contrived grammatical construction. and they don’t make a habit of using “them” in like manner elsewhere in their regular conversation. One thing worth considering, though, is if Chris IS using this “for effect”, to make a point so to speak, then I applaud the clever combination of dialect, idiom and Biblical allusion (snakes, apples, women, and temptation).
As I said originally, this is really a very minor thing. I apologize for coming across as an overly critical pedant; it’s a regrettable tendency of mine, and I will not be offended if you or other readers let me know when I get too carried away. In this case I was mainly motivated by curiosity as to whether others’ perceptions and recollections of how Texans talk matched mine.
hmm…
Chris, yeah I was pretty sure after the first comment, but now there is little doubt that the Iphie fungus is among us, again.
And it apparently fancies itself a Tolkien wizard…appropriately enough for an apparition, here today and gone…???
Chris, I just stopped by to check on the thread before calling it a day, and it seems I’ve offended the other posters here, and possibly you as well. That was not my intention, and I once again apologize. I have no wish to cause others any discomfort, so I won’t trouble you or your forum members again.
I also hope you’ll continue to have success with your strip as it’s quality work and something to be proud of. I will give myself leave to keep reading and enjoying it, but I’ll do so privately. Best wishes to you and your readers; as I alluded earlier, in the dire times to come, some good humor, leavened with insight and truth will be welcome indeed.
I posted a reply to a previous comment of yours, Tharkun, & only afterward read further.
No reason to abstain. I’m sure most other readers would welcome any intelligent poster. I said, & still say, that you didn’t offend me, & I hoped & hope to not offend you.
As for any who might be offended, well…. I’d ask folks, “How does it feel to be so weak that mere words hurt you?”
T. Budd, I’m guessing tharkun abstaining (bailing), has more to do with her syntax exposing her than her content offending others.
Boobs and Bacon…what can’t they do. Thanks, Chris.
Can I get an “AMEN!”
Sam wants “a man to bring home the bacon.” And sausage. Bring it on home big boy…
Yowza.
You go, Sheriff! Skye’s promises to be a wild ride and who knows, she just may straighten up with Tucker’s influence. There’s that saying, behind every good man, there’s a good woman, but the opposite also applies, don’t you think?
Just curious where Skye’s dress is in the second frame. Her assets seem … unrestrained in silhouette.
BURN THE HERETIC! ahem….. One note amidst this etymological slugfest, for whomever it was that was afeared the sheriff would be spooked by poor horny Skye..? Sweet old fashioned man that he is, you’ll note that he’s reaching quite readily for bra closures that aren’t even there… yeah… the accessories might have changed somewhat, but he still knows where the key goes.
Tharkun, your worries are for naught, the usage of them by Zed in that case was, as you said…”a clever combination of dialect, idiom and biblical allusion, snakes, Apple, women, etc”. Our man Zed is more than meets the eyes, and PaulS’s admonishment to work your way through the past decade of the strip is the best idea. Heck, the Very first strip will get you on the road to find out.
GEB, she’s leaning over giving him a better look at the goods, I think.
Is it just me or is Zed startin’ to look a lot more like his dad? (AKA Katie Ross’ husband) And for that matter the sheriff reminded me a whole lot of a young, pre (hideously botched) plastic surgery Burt Reynolds – complete with shit-eatin’ grin.
Tucker is modeled off early Burt,definitely,but I forgot some grey hairs for him; he’s probably 4 years younger than Z.
But then, who’s to say Tucker isn’t a Grecian Formula man, especially on a date with a PYT?
Hah! Hey, is this ‘Eat what u want & Die like a Man’ SteveH?