# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2021, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/21 "2021-04-18T23:27:14Z")
I’m not familiar with the pronunciation for types of flowers so I thought maybe he was trying to make some type of wordplay of ‘narcissus’ for ‘narcissist’ but it still doesn’t make much sense. ---
**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 19, 2021, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/22 "2021-04-19T00:00:30Z")
A narcissist is someone fixated on themselves. The flowers may be simiarly labeled as narcissist but they are not, and neither is Janis. Its not a joke comic this time, its a philosophy statement. Unless the joke is on narcissist themselves, missing out on the beauty around them that has nothing to do with them. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/23 "2021-04-19T00:02:58Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > 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. This is my take as well. I get what the strip is saying, but it would have been clearer and far more effective if the artist had drawn an elaborate, colorful “spring is busting out all over” scene in the last panel. (Yes, I am aware that the song from _Carousel_ uses the word “June,” not “spring.”) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/24 "2021-04-19T00:15:58Z")
Feels a bit like a “Mark Trail” pastiche. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/25 "2021-04-19T00:27:59Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’m betting this strip will show up there soon. I’m seeing a copyright date of 2017. Does that mean the strip is a rerun? And would that mean it has already been discussed four years ago? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/26 "2021-04-19T03:36:31Z")
Huh. I thought Joplin and Guthrie and figured I was missing something. Been drinkin’. ---
**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 19, 2021, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/27 "2021-04-19T06:59:45Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > ’m seeing a copyright date of 2017. Does that mean the strip is a rerun? And would that mean it has already been discussed four years ago? It showed up on my GoComics feed today, so it must be a rerun. CIDU does them also. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/28 "2021-04-19T09:55:56Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I’m not familiar with the pronunciation for types of flowers so I thought maybe he was trying to make some type of wordplay of ‘narcissus’ for ‘narcissist’ but it still doesn’t make much sense. Here is the entire strip: “It’s a waste of time to be overly pedantic about the specific type of flower. What matters is that standing quietly in a field of them is a good experience.” Everything else is a distracting incidental. That’s it, that’s all, full stop, do not pass go, do not collect 200 lupins. I quibble the strip’s conclusion. I for one would like to warned if I were about to lie down in a patch of oleander. ---
**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 19, 2021, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/29 "2021-04-19T12:06:00Z")
I asked my wife, Pepper Mill, what she thought, and her response was similar to many in this thread, that you should not worry about the details and appreciate the flowers. i can’t buy that at all. The strip certainly doesn’t set you up for that interpretation. And that side-eyed look combined with her crooked smirking smile suggests some sort of innuendo to me. The Arlo and Janis strip pretty frequently uses innuendo, trying to be obscure enough about it that they can run in a Sunday Family Newspaper, but undeniably having a hidden sexual meaning > **[Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for June 03, 2016 | GoComics.com](https://www.gocomics.com/arloandjanis/2016/06/03?comments=visible#comments)** > > Arlo: Good morning! > Arlo: I'll bet you're glad we found that old tape NOW!! > Janis: Maybe... > Janis: But we're putting it away again - for a long time! > Arlo: Yeah, we pushed the weirdness meter to the limit last night! > **[kirk.is|c:\\data\\media\\images\\comics part 1](https://kirk.is/2009/09/13/)** > > kirk.is provides general-interest and geeky links and quotes on a daily basis [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlo_and_Janis#/media/File:Arloandjanissuggestive.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlo_and_Janis#/media/File:Arloandjanissuggestive.jpg) > [@](#): > > Many of the most notable jokes are based on sexual attraction, especially Arlo’s desire for Janis. Despite having been a couple since meeting in college in 1973 (a [backstory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backstory) revealed in a series of strips that also functioned as a parody of the book and film _[Gone with the Wind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film))_ ), Arlo and Janis are still besotted with each other. The libidinous content of the strip can be surprisingly overt to readers accustomed to more sanitized newspaper comics. And in a medium where long marriages are often presented as either sexless or antagonistic ( _[The Lockhorns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lockhorns)_ , _[Andy Capp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Capp)_ , etc.), these strips that show the couple’s love and ongoing attraction to each other offer an alternative. > > “There has always been knowledge of sex in _Arlo and Janis_ , and the fact that married people have sex,” Johnson said. “I think it’s silly to ignore that humans have sex. It’s like ignoring eating and sleeping.”[_[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)_ ] Johnson also wrote, “I’d be willing to bet you five dollars I was the first cartoonist to depict a couple exchanging sexual fantasies in bed.”[[20]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlo_and_Janis#cite_note-20) > > On the “Comics I Don’t Understand” website, “The Arlo Award” is given to a cartoonist who slips something past the syndicate censors.[[21]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlo_and_Janis#cite_note-21) > **[Arlo and Janis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlo_and_Janis)** > > Arlo and Janis is an American gag-a-day comic strip written and drawn by Jimmy Johnson. It is a leisurely paced domestic situation comedy. It was first published in newspapers on July 29, 1985. > The focus of the strip is tightly on its two title characters, a middle-aged, middle-class baby boomer couple with an easygoing approach to life. The family surname is Day, but it's only rarely used in the strip. Johnson confessed, "When I first sold the strip, the family had no name. The strip itself h... ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/30 "2021-04-19T13:38:01Z")
Me too. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/31 "2021-04-19T13:40:51Z")
Sometimes a buttercup is just a buttercup. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/32 "2021-04-19T13:41:15Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Huh. I thought Joplin and Guthrie and figured I was missing something. > > Been drinkin’ Same here when I first saw it. I wasn’t drunk, I was just drinkin. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/33 "2021-04-19T15:16:55Z")
I think maybe it’s a convoluted riff on " a [flower] by any other name would smell as sweet". ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/34 "2021-04-19T21:07:13Z")
Hmm, interesting… ---
**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 20, 2021, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/35 "2021-04-20T00:24:40Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > i can’t buy that at all. The strip certainly doesn’t set you up for that interpretation. And that side-eyed look combined with her crooked smirking smile suggests some sort of innuendo to me. A bit too subtle for Janis, I think. The strip the day before the one in question had Arlo delivering a glass of wine to Janis who is in the bath. He frequently visits her when bathing. We’ve seen Janis’ sex smile plenty. That ain’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/36 "2021-04-20T02:34:11Z")
I get that the “punchline” was “Enjoy the flowers” but I reject it. It’s a stupid strawman since no one actually gets that worried about narcissus vs jonquil vs daffodil vs buttercups. The writer impressed the differences upon us and then acted like we need to be told to ignore them. We were already ignoring them and the only one who gave a shit was the writer. It’s a non-joke and a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/37 "2021-04-20T03:14:17Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I wasn’t drunk, I was just drinkin. Corky, is that you? _But you’re so high_ ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/38 "2021-04-20T03:27:08Z")
There we go. +1 ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/39 "2021-04-20T03:31:07Z")
I would have got the allusion if the lead up was about roses (ala _Romeo and Juliet_). But not daffodils and buttercups. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264/40 "2021-04-20T03:49:20Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > > [@Hampshire](#): > > > > I’m not familiar with the pronunciation for types of flowers so I thought maybe he was trying to make some type of wordplay of ‘narcissus’ for ‘narcissist’ but it still doesn’t make much sense. > > Here is the entire strip: “It’s a waste of time to be overly pedantic about the specific type of flower. What matters is that standing quietly in a field of them is a good experience.” Everything else is a distracting incidental. > > That’s it, that’s all, full stop, do not pass go, do not collect 200 lupins. > > I quibble the strip’s conclusion. I for one would like to warned if I were about to lie down in a patch of oleander. I always see oleander as more of a shrub (or bush) than as ground cover. That is, the notion of a “patch of oleander” is foreign to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-understand-arlo-and-janis-today-april-18-2021/940264.md?page=3)