# Is Cecil Adams a real person, or a title for a group of people? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 8, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621 "2011-09-08T15:32:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SDMBKL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sdmbkl/32/7297_2.png) [@SDMBKL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SDMBKL)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/1 "2011-09-08T15:32:00Z")
I am not sure whether Cecil Adams is a real person, or merely a title for a group of people. The website _does_ say that Cecil Adams is a man and hints that he worked as a _Chicago Reader_ journalist before he started (presumably) the website called The Straight Dope, because the column caught the attention and fascination of some readers. The Wikipedia article about Cecil Adams hints that Cecil Adams is an old American man of Irish ancestry. But on the Straight Dope website, it appears that “we” (the people who work for this group) do not know who this person is, despite that Cecil is the main person behind all these answers. I am beginning to think that Cecil Adams is a title for a group of people who collaborate, research, and answer questions for the public. This group holds one entity: Cecil Adams. At the same time, this group uses wit and humor to pretend that Cecil is a real person. On the other hand, it is possible that Cecil Adams may be a pseudonym of a Chicago Reader journalist, who does not want his real name on the Internet. Yet, he tries his best, under this pseudonym, to do heavy amounts of research in order to answer each question in a witty manner. I admit that I find the answers rather amusing, such as the “Why is the raven like a writing desk?” riddle. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/2 "2011-09-08T15:32:51Z")
How could he not be real? He brought all these people together, that’s a real accomplishment. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/3 "2011-09-08T15:44:49Z")
I am Cecil Adams. Or Sparticus. I get myself mixed up sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/4 "2011-09-08T16:34:23Z")
From the early 70’s to this very day, there has never been a doubt in my mind as to whether or not Cecil Adams is real. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/5 "2011-09-08T16:41:14Z")
I saw him in Las Vegas once. He was playing the quarter slots. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/6 "2011-09-08T16:49:10Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I saw him in Las Vegas once. He was playing the quarter slots. Really? I saw him drinking a pina colada in Trader Vic’s. His hair was _perfect_. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/7 "2011-09-08T16:52:14Z")
I was Cecil Adams. Once. For thirty minutes. It was the 60s… ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/8 "2011-09-08T16:57:37Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > I was Cecil Adams. Once. For thirty minutes. It was the 60s… Are you sure that wasn’t 20 minutes? SDMBKL, welcome to SDMB. Cecil Adams is a nom de plume used for The Straight Dope column and web site. The person currently writing under that name is Ed Zotti. Of course, that’s just my opinion, man. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/9 "2011-09-08T17:13:06Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Are you sure that wasn’t 20 minutes? May be, I don’t remember, I remember it was in the Marianas Trench. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/10 "2011-09-08T17:20:37Z")
Allow me to [refresh your memory](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=283407). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/11 "2011-09-08T17:26:53Z")
Cecil Adams is real, and Ed Zotti is his editor. It takes a man almost as smart as Cecil to transcribe some of his output into something fact-checked and publishable. Cecil may be a pseudonym for a man also named Cecil Adams, but he is such an intensely private person this is difficult to verify. Strangly enough, the number of “authentic photos of Cecil” surfacing has dropped greatly since the advent of cell phones and digital cameras, leading one to suspect that many if not all of the prior spate of “Cecil Photos” are bogus. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/12 "2011-09-08T17:33:08Z")
As to the “group” question, there is a “staff” but articles written by staff other than Cecil are noted as such. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/13 "2011-09-08T17:56:27Z")
Cecil Adams was a 10-foot monster who slept with all our wives! And punched us all in the face! And we loved him for it! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/14 "2011-09-08T17:57:57Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Really? I saw him drinking a pina colada in Trader Vic’s. His hair was _perfect_. I saw him with a Chinese menu in his hand, walking through the streets of SoHo in the rain. He was looking for the place called Le Ho Fook’s. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/15 "2011-09-08T18:03:10Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Are you sure that wasn’t 20 minutes? > > SDMBKL, welcome to SDMB. Cecil Adams is a nom de plume used for The Straight Dope column and web site. The person currently writing under that name is Ed Zotti. Of course, that’s just my opinion, man. If that was the case, they’d have to be banned from the board for being “socks”, as both Ed and Cecil have accounts.😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/16 "2011-09-08T18:04:26Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > And we loved him for it! Waiter? I’ll have what he’s drinking. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/17 "2011-09-08T18:05:38Z")
The bowl of petunias on my desk just said “oh no, not again.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/18 "2011-09-08T18:07:30Z")
Personally, I think he’s a direct descendant of Kent Allard. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/19 "2011-09-08T18:08:42Z")
I heard he got sick of being the Dread Pirate Roberts. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621/20 "2011-09-08T18:09:43Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Cecil Adams is real, and Ed Zotti is his editor. Now you just need to teach Vikings how to write this in the sand with a stick and work on your Arab accent… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-adams-a-real-person-or-a-title-for-a-group-of-people/595621.md?page=2)