# 99 signs Cecil is DEAD, DEAD, oh so very DEAD! (Happy Valentine's Day, btw) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 14, 2007, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159 "2007-02-14T08:10:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/21 "2007-02-14T18:26:31Z")
On the cover of _Shabby Road_, Cecil is pictured without shoes, which, in Yeti mythology, is a sign of death. And on the coda of "Strawberry Tarts Forever, " **Dex** intones “Cece is a goner,” which is very bad Lithuanian for “have you a wildebeest?” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/22 "2007-02-14T18:36:37Z")
[QUOTE=fishbicycle] “have you a wildebeest?” [/QUOTE] No, what’s gnu with you? d&r ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/23 "2007-02-14T18:37:00Z")
-The Peanut Butter Pop Sensation-- Cecil’s early 1970s folk-rock band-- is talking of a reunion tour _without_ Cecil on autoharp. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/24 "2007-02-14T18:45:10Z")
(lonely tear running down face)“I never even got to meet him”… (and sigh.) “Alright that’s a wrap…good work Jali.” ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/25 "2007-02-14T18:46:41Z")
Cecil is _not_ dead. He’s just pining for the fjords. ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Jass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/26 "2007-02-14T18:51:21Z")
I heard that Cecil used to say that he hoped someone would leave a bottle of Root Beer on his grave on every anniversary of his death. SDSAB constantly assigned questions obviously written in Ed Zotti’s handwriting asking whether a can of rootbeer is the moral equivalent of a bottle of rootbeer. Everyone still alive from Cecil’s infamous “People I Want to Kill” list are no longer in hiding. Cecil’s planned sitcom project with Matt LeBlanc “Two Dudes” seems to be in permanent “development.” There is a trail of blood from Cecil’s last known location leading to a unexplored cave. Constant flow of “Did We Serve You Well?” survey requests from a tombstone manufacturer sent to SD offices. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/27 "2007-02-14T19:11:12Z")
[QUOTE=Mindfield] Cecil is _not_ dead. He’s just pining for the fjords. [/QUOTE] He is an _ex_-Cecil, gone to join the choir invisible. Or maybe he’s just resting, and nailed to the perch. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/28 "2007-02-14T19:27:43Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Obviously, **Cecil** ’s _second_ demise involves malnutrition, in some fashion. [/QUOTE] And in related news, Slortar’s functionality virtually intact. Of course, now I have to answer the time-honored question of what to do with a hungry Cecil-zombie. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/29 "2007-02-14T19:30:36Z")
Cecil was the one vehemently opposed to the editing feature. Eventually Ed couldn’t stand it any more. Things got ugly. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/30 "2007-02-14T20:00:50Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Lendervedder] Has not shown up at, or even RSVP’d for, my bi-annual New Years Eve Party EVER! [/QUOTE] 😕 Meh, to each their own. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/31 "2007-02-14T20:28:55Z")
I just wanted to say that I love the way you do lists, **Happy**. So random - so unexpected - all dashes, then out of nowhere - A 12! Cecil’s not dead. He’s in all of us, everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/32 "2007-02-14T20:31:16Z")
Didn’t Nietzsche say something similar? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/33 "2007-02-14T20:36:51Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] I just wanted to say that I love the way you do lists, **Happy**. So random - so unexpected - all dashes, then out of nowhere - A 12! [/QUOTE] I almost edited it during my grace period, but then I thought “What Would Cecil Do?” He’d leave it in. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/34 "2007-02-14T20:37:19Z")
17 and 23 no longer correlate. A building’s overhead crane must have knocked the side out of _him_. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/35 "2007-02-14T20:47:14Z")
According to the Social Security Death Index, Cecil passed [November 27, 2006](http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?letter=y&lastname=ADAMS&firstname=CECIL&ssn=305-30-3070&birth=03+Apr+1929&death=27+Nov+2006&middlename=&namesiffix=). He had apparently spent the long Thanksgiving weekend with relatives in the cotton belt near Sikeston, MO, when he took ill after an experiment involving leftover pork sausage dressing and a few days later expired. ☹ a moment of silence, please. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/36 "2007-02-14T21:10:38Z")
-His latest video to appear on al Jazeera was dated 10-16-2006, but in it he was clearly doing the crossword from the March 18, 2005 issue of _The Reader_ -Don Henley hasn’t received a Christmas card from Cecil in two years. -His voice mailbox has been completely full since at least last April. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/37 "2007-02-14T21:19:46Z")
-Some papers carrying _Straight Dope_ column with byline “by Paul McCartney.” -Galleys for most columns feature “BRAINS” repeated over and over where response should be. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/38 "2007-02-14T21:29:05Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Cecil’s not dead. He’s in all of us, everywhere. [/QUOTE] Soylent Green…IT’S MADE OF CECIL!!! _hands to face in horror_ ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/39 "2007-02-14T21:34:22Z")
Pigeons bobbing their heads in apparent grief. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159/40 "2007-02-14T21:42:33Z")
-Currently #34 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Bestseller List: _There’s No Debate: Cecil Adams has Died and Here’s How it Happened_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-signs-cecil-is-dead-dead-oh-so-very-dead-happy-valentines-day-btw/392159.md?page=3)