Willy "N Ethel is consistently dumb, but usually I can figure out what the gag is supposed to be. The one on the upper right is resisting me. Joe’s sloppy penwork doesn’t help.
She can crawl faster than he can walk? :dubious: 
Being lost in the desert and dying of dehydration is the only situation in which an adult would crawl like that. A perfect setup for the gag.
“Crawling through the desert” is a standard cartoon trope (see, for example, here, here, or here). I figure the intended humor comes from the incongruity of being nagged to hurry up while crawling aimlessly in the desert.
It’s the one on the lower right that I find baffling.
Beats me. I don’t get the one below it either.
mmm
She’s been crawling in the desert because when you’re stranded in the 120 degree desert and dehydrated, you still have the urge to keep going no matter what even if you’re too weak to walk. He has been sitting, has given up, but as soon as she’s almost out of sight he heaves himself up and staggers after her, and as he catches up she makes a remark. It’s pretty lame but it doesn’t require much thinking…I didn’t know W&E was still around, I loved them years ago. One of my favorite strips was Ethel sitting in the car, and Willie leaning on the door saying to her ‘guess what?’ - and all around, the bank buildings had big signs saying ‘closed for the holiday’. I loved that look she was always directing at the reader, married to such a boob.
So, it’s like four separate joke panels? None funny? Okay…
Upper right panel: Willy is not walking, he’s sprinting! She can crawl faster than he can sprint, he’s so outta shape and lazy.
My favorite: Willy says he’s too tired to even THINK UP an excuse to call in sick at work. Ethel says What if your doctor pulled those kinds of shenanigans when you needed him? Willy asks You wouldn’t happen to know what excuse he used, would ya?
Lower right: French Sandwich Cookies, which she has, sound small and dainty but they are humongous. Double Cheeseburger sounds substantial, but it’s tiny.
Until I read the responses I thought the upper right was at the beach, and the red blob was Willie cursing. Imagine my puzzlement!
If that’s the sun, it’s like no cartoon sun I’ve ever seen. With the shading, and the line pointing down to Willy, it must mean something else. That’s not usual cartoon shorthand for cursing.
That gets my vote too. A standard crawling through the desert set up. The specific joke here is she can crawl on her hands and knees faster than he can run while upright.
TCMF-2L
I think the “line” is just another one of his sweat drops. It’s not as rounded as the others.
Wily 'n Ethel is one of my all-time favorite comics. I agree with the consensus on the upper right cartoon.
That makes sense.
And since we’re doing this, my favorite Willy 'n Ethel panel, or at least the one that has stayed with me the longest, is one from the 80s whose caption was something like
"OK MISS MANNERS, WHEN IS IT PROPER TO WEAR OLIVES ON YOUR FINGERS?
Classy. And hilarious.
I think this is very much incorrect.
I believe terentii’s early explanation is right.
And I’ve spent way more time thinking about this than it deserves.
mmm
“Don’t think of it as a new, yellow couch. It’s a [l]blonde, trophy* couch.”
Can someone please give me the Willy ‘n’ Ethel for today? It’s not up, and emails bounce back, and calls don’t get through if I try to call them.