# I don't understand Arlo and Janis today April 18 2021 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [April 18, 2021, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264 "2021-04-18T19:41:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/1 "2021-04-18T19:41:55Z")
> **[News - oregonlive.com](https://www.oregonlive.com/go-comics/?gdfp_req=1&iu=344101295&%20supervisors=true&%20fitness=true&amu=%2Farloandjanis%2F2021%2F04%2F18)** > > Get the latest Oregon news. Find photos and videos, comment on the news, and join the forum discussions at OregonLive.com. > **[Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for April 18, 2021 | GoComics.com](https://www.gocomics.com/arloandjanis/2021/04/18)** > > April 18, 2021 > **[Sudbury Comics](https://www.sudbury.com/comics?amu=%2Farloandjanis%2F2021%2F04%2F18)** > > Comics published on Sudbury.com Jimmy Johnston frequently slips in subtle sexual humor, and I suspect (from her smirk) that he’s doing it here. But for the life of me, I can’t figure out what the joke is supposed to be, whether it’ssexual or not. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/2 "2021-04-18T19:44:27Z")
I think the takeaway is that spring flowers are something to smile about and enjoy, no matter the genus and species. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/3 "2021-04-18T20:04:08Z")
I don’t get it. It brought thoughts of Mares Eat Oats, but that’s probably just because I’m kind of screwed up. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/4 "2021-04-18T21:08:12Z")
Relax and enjoy the moment without over thinking it. You might be over thinking it. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/5 "2021-04-18T21:16:54Z")
I thought this thread was going to be about understanding Janis Joplin and Arlo Guthrie. I haven’t read “the funny papers” in donkeys’ years, so I don’t recognize strips that are more recent than a couple of decades old. 🥴 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/6 "2021-04-18T21:55:56Z")
It feels to me like the panel with the punch line was left out. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/7 "2021-04-18T22:14:13Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I think the takeaway is that spring flowers are something to smile about and enjoy, no matter the genus and species. > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Relax and enjoy the moment without over thinking it. You might be over thinking it. These are it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/8 "2021-04-18T22:36:01Z")
That is excellent advice, but I cant help thinking somewhere there is a joke about being narcissistic. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/9 "2021-04-18T22:36:32Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > > [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > > > I think the takeaway is that spring flowers are something to smile about and enjoy, no matter the genus and species. > > > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > > > Relax and enjoy the moment without over thinking it. You might be over thinking it. > > These are it. There ya go. Stop and smell the flowers. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/10 "2021-04-18T22:39:55Z")
There’s a website just for you > **[Comics I Don't Understand](https://cidu.info/)** > > ... as the groundhog said to the president I’m betting this strip will show up there soon. But I’m guessing that the important point is that it’s spring, and it is okay to go outside. BTW CIDU has a special Arlo page for comics that slip naughty stuff past the censors. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/11 "2021-04-18T22:40:44Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I don’t recognize strips that are more recent than a couple of decades old. Arlo and Janis has been around since 1985. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/12 "2021-04-18T22:41:58Z")
If that’s the intent, I’d argue it’s not executed very well. The guy at the end is looking at the tree, not the flowers. So not only do they not come off as enjoying them, but they direct the viewers eye to the wrong part of the scene. Having the character more obviously interacting with the flowers would make it work better. An alternative execution would be to just up the game of the detail and beauty of the last panel to show the magnificence of spring. The artist did seem to up the detail slightly, but I don’t think it really works as showcasing the beauty of spring, either. It’s still the same basic comic style. And I do agree that it’s weird to make a big deal out of the name “narcissus” without that playing a part in the joke. Also, do people really refer to jonquils as daffodils? I thought daffodils were the other flowers in that genus. My grandmother always anyone, saying those glorious flowers in her back yard were jonquils, and not any other flower name they came up with. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/13 "2021-04-18T22:57:23Z")
They do? where? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/14 "2021-04-18T23:00:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Also, do people really refer to jonquils as daffodils? Having googled “jonquil” to see what they look like, I would certainly call them daffodils. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/15 "2021-04-18T23:03:05Z")
Too sub-tile for me. P.S. I always considered daffodils and jonquils the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/16 "2021-04-18T23:14:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The guy at the end is looking at the tree, not the flowers. Not really - look again at her eyes. Most posters in here need to take the strip’s advice - stop over analyzing, and just enjoy the pretty flowers. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/17 "2021-04-18T23:19:50Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Arlo and Janis has been around since 1985. Seriously??? Wow. Maybe it’s been that long since I’ve read _any_ comic strips. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/18 "2021-04-18T23:20:33Z")
i think he was being a smartass to people in flower circles with the tag "who case what ya call em just enjoy them " ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/19 "2021-04-18T23:22:25Z")
Right. 20 years ago. No? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/20 "2021-04-18T23:24:40Z")
I see it as the person looking straight at us (breaking the 4th wall) and smiling, happy, standing among the pretty flowers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264.md?page=2)