I’m not really up on “Momma” but I see it from time to time. I’ve never batted an eye at it really, until today. What the heck is this supposed to mean? I have absolutely no idea what the intended joke is supposed to be. It is absolutely mystifying me. Anyone have any ideas?
I’m guessing the implication is that Thomas keeps his laundry hamper in the bathroom, so the other dude is pretending to use the bathroom so he can really go and steal his socks.
Kinda dumb, and it took me a minute before I got it.
Josh Fruhlinger has his own disturbing theories.
So Francis is low on socks, and his solution is to use Thomas’ dirty socks? and why is Francis sweating?
Hah, yeah thats more what it reads like to me. And why on earth did Fransis used to steal Thomas’ (is that his brother?) dirty socks anyway? Why not steal his clean ones, if he needs socks. The whole thing is just way too weird and gross for a bland generic type of comic strip like this.
Oh, gross. I think that possibility hadn’t occurred to me because, ew. EW. SERIOUSLY.
I got it right away. Francis wants to steal Thomas’ socks out of his laundry hamper, which he keeps in his bathroom.
It probably helps that our laundry hamper was in the bathroom growing up (built into the counter, in fact).
There’s clearly something wrong with me, because his third idea was the first thing I came up with.
He’s sweating 'cause he ran over to his brother’s house to get the socks out of his hamper
Is this strip ever funny?
I didn’t know it was still being written – it’s never been funny, and I was sure it would have been killed off by now.
I got here a day late and I’m agonizing trying to figure out Saturday’s strip only to find out that the subject of the thread was Friday’s strip. Anyone care to tackle Saturday’s strip?
Had to look up Beau Brummell. He “was the arbiter of men’s fashion in Regency England” in the18th and early 19th century. His name has been referenced in a total of 3 posts in Straight Dope’s 10+ year history.Yet knowing about him is essential to understanding today’s Momma.
So, to recap, to appreciate Momma, you have to know about 18th century fashion pioneers, you have to assume hampers must be in the bathroom, and you have to take it for granted that someone else’s used dirty socks is what someone would want if he was running low on his own.
Or read regency authors such as Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. He’s quite a common reference, esp in Heyer’s work. He’s also mentioned in the movie ‘Annie’ (from Wiki):
The song “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” features the lyrics, “Your clothes may be Beau Brummelly- They stand out a mile…” referencing Brummell’s eclectic manner of dress.
Heh, I was about to say, “Or have seen Annie.”
And It’s Still Rock And Roll to Me by Billy Joel has the lines “You could really be a Beau Brummell, baby/If you just gave it half a chance.”
Not to mention the mid-60s group The Beau Brummels that had hits with “Laugh, Laugh” and “Just A Little”.
“Laugh, Laugh” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA7x_MCZplQ&feature=related
“Just A Little” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm8gtFQja5U&feature=related
Not at all. I didn’t know who (or when) Beau Brummel was historically, but I know that “Beau Brummel” is cliche-shorthand for a fashion-conscious man.
Ditto. Why else would you want socks from the hamper?
This response on the Comics Curmudgeon site makes the most sense to me:
I [del]am one of those[/del] have been acquainted with guys who don’t care whether their socks are clean, as long as they don’t have too many holes in them.