# I no longer laugh at Dilbert, but sometimes I cry... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 22, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763 "2007-07-22T18:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/21 "2007-07-23T13:18:14Z")
[QUOTE=Djurmz] In any event, he does not use this phrase, but will instead use his now trademarked version: “I’m going to throw a wrench in the monkey here…” I don’t know where the monkey came from, but it needs to go back. [/QUOTE] Does he ever tell you to “make like a tree and get out of here” or that your jokes are “about as funny as a screen door on a battleship”? ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/22 "2007-07-23T13:27:24Z")
I belive I’ve seen Clouds of Altercation in early Popeye cartoons. They usually culminate in Popeye getting beat up, the theme song playing, and Popeye eating a can of spinach. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/23 "2007-07-23T13:33:39Z")
I can’t get past the fact that he calls you “Princess.” ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/24 "2007-07-23T13:34:00Z")
Around here, instead of “assholes and elbows”, we say “balls to the wall”. How’s that for some imagery. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/25 "2007-07-23T13:59:12Z")
[QUOTE=Djurmz] Every new day, without fail, begins with a “Good MORNING, Princess!” That’s me. I’m Princess. [/QUOTE] You should not tolerate this. Professional people should be addressed in a professional manner. You should not respond to that name, and politely but firmly ask that he stop. If he persists, and if your company is large enough to have an HR department, you should report him to HR for creating a hostile work environment. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/26 "2007-07-23T14:26:16Z")
I think the Tasmanian Devil “Taz” was a one-critter, self-generating Cloud of Altercation. And sorry, **Djurmz** , for your problems at work. My sympathies. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/27 "2007-07-23T15:52:51Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] Around here, instead of “assholes and elbows”, we say “balls to the wall”. How’s that for some imagery. [/QUOTE] I’ve also heard “head down and ass up.” And not in a sexual way, either. Sorry, **Malacandra** , but I don’t see anything lovely about “Andy Capp.” Yes, Flo beat her husband sometimes, too. They were completely dysfunctional. It might have been very realistic, but not particularly lovely. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/28 "2007-07-23T16:04:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **Freddy the Pig** > you should report him to HR for creating a hostile work environment. Ditto that. There’s a sexual harassment lawsuit just begging to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/29 "2007-07-23T16:11:28Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Isn’t there also a saying about not knowing your ass from your elbow? I’ve heard the one about not knowing your ass from a hole in the ground… [/QUOTE] There is one about not knowing your ass from Page 8. No, I don’t know why it’s “Page 8.” Poor Page 8; always mistaken for an ass, never gets any respect… ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/30 "2007-07-23T16:23:36Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Borgia] [Quote= The OP] …I sometimes get the impression that he’s been staring **like a caveman** at the spreadsheet for about three or four hours before I came in… [/quote] NOT COOL!! That is Not Cool!! [/QUOTE] You got that right. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AHoosierMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@AHoosierMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHoosierMama)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/31 "2007-07-23T18:05:15Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] I can’t get past the fact that he calls you “Princess.” [/QUOTE] I once had a boss that called the male employees “puppies” and the females “kittens”. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/32 "2007-07-23T18:29:58Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] There is one about not knowing your ass from Page 8. No, I don’t know why it’s “Page 8.” Poor Page 8; always mistaken for an ass, never gets any respect… [/QUOTE] As opposed to Page Three? 🙂 (And no, I’m not linking to it.) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/33 "2007-07-23T18:31:37Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] Sorry, **Malacandra** , but I don’t see anything lovely about “Andy Capp.” Yes, Flo beat her husband sometimes, too. They were completely dysfunctional. It might have been very realistic, but not particularly lovely. [/QUOTE] I loathed that cartoon, even when I was a kid. I found it completely unfunny. Is it gone? I haven’t see it for lo these many years. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/34 "2007-07-23T23:48:59Z")
I remember an early Garfield comic strip used the Cloud of Altercation. Jon had a roommate for a while, a friend who needed a temporary place to stay. Said friend asked Jon “does it hurt to rub a cat backwards?” He proceeded to rub Garfield against the grain of his fur, and the third panel was the CoA, with heads, teeth, and claws coming out. In the fourth panel Garfield is stomping angrily away, and the friends suit is shredded and he’s all cut up. The guy answers his own question. “Yup!” The friend was named Lyman, and when he arrived at Jon’s house he brought his dog with him, Odie. Odie stayed when Lyman left. ---
**Author:** ![Djurmz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Djurmz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Djurmz)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/35 "2007-07-24T02:05:32Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] You should not tolerate this. Professional people should be addressed in a professional manner. You should not respond to that name, and politely but firmly ask that he stop. If he persists, and if your company is large enough to have an HR department, you should report him to HR for creating a hostile work environment. [/QUOTE] I have thicker skin than that. Give me some credit, this is the least of my worries. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/36 "2007-07-24T04:27:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] I loathed that cartoon, even when I was a kid. I found it completely unfunny. Is it gone? I haven’t see it for lo these many years. [/QUOTE] The original cartoonist, Reg Smythe, died in 1998, but others have kept it going since, alas: [Andy Capp - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Capp) ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/37 "2007-07-24T06:25:32Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] You should not tolerate this. Professional people should be addressed in a professional manner. You should not respond to that name, and politely but firmly ask that he stop. If he persists, and if your company is large enough to have an HR department, you should report him to HR for creating a hostile work environment. [/QUOTE] The problem with that is, once the report is made, **Djmurz** has made an openly antagonistic mood, and from that point until the matter is resolved by HR, he will make things very uncomfortable for her. You have my sympathy, **Djmurz.** That “Princess” shit is outrageous. I’d be willing to put a bullet in your boss’s head if you would put a bullet in my boss’s head. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2007, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/38 "2007-07-24T15:54:06Z")
If I was completely annoyed by the “Princess” business (I’d be more likely to think it was funny, but it depends on who’s saying it and how), I’d make it MY business to work on ways to respond to it to get a response out of him. “Morning, Viscount.” “Morning, Mr. Whatever.” (I don’t call anyone Mr. anything at work, ever.) “Morning, Lord of all He Surveys.” In other words, I’d be having fun at his expense, if he wasn’t able to lighten up. If he is able to, then we’d both be having fun. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/39 "2007-07-24T17:56:02Z")
[QUOTE=Djurmz] I have thicker skin than that. [/quote] Then why did you say it makes you “want to punch him in the face”? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763/40 "2007-07-24T20:02:38Z")
Sounds like somebody’s got a case of the Mondays. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-no-longer-laugh-at-dilbert-but-sometimes-i-cry/412763.md?page=3)