# Is Cecil your master? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 27, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478 "2006-04-27T17:28:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/1 "2006-04-27T17:28:01Z")
Personally I have to fight the urge to go with convention every time I need to link to a column by Cecil and to instead say something like “Cecil speaks.” This could result in people missing it as our eyes are attuned to the specific phrase, “The Master speaks.” But what about those of us for whom Cecil is not our master? Should we bow to the masses and pretend worship for this, admittedly, respectable fellow, or are we better to keep to our morals and refuse to accept His infallibility. Should we condemn Dopers who consider Cecil their master as pit-worthy sheep, and failing in the fight against ignorance? What say you? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/2 "2006-04-27T17:32:24Z")
I like to think of him as a patron saint, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/3 "2006-04-27T17:33:29Z")
This is in Great Debates? I guess you’re not joking then. Well then, let me spill the beans: _it’s all a joke_. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/4 "2006-04-27T17:34:33Z")
While Unca Cece is _The_ Master (of _The Straight Dope_ column), he is not _my_ master. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/5 "2006-04-27T17:36:14Z")
I’ll just say “thank you” for verbalizing something that has bugged me since I got here. For the background noise at The Dope to carry the overtones of anti-religion to outright atheism, it smacks of Hypocrisy to elevate the probably fictitious (and almost certainly composite) Cecil to the level of a religious cult leader. I realize it’s most often said in a tongue-in-cheek and mocking tone, but Cecil is definitely not my Master. Christopher Walken is. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/6 "2006-04-27T17:39:57Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > **Is Cecil your master?** Think of him more as “your daddy”. You’ll like it, trust me. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/7 "2006-04-27T17:41:53Z")
Nah. He’s just like any of us, actually. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/8 "2006-04-27T17:42:20Z")
Cecil said it, I believe it, that settles it. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/9 "2006-04-27T17:50:13Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > Personally I have to fight the urge to go with convention every time I need to link to a column by Cecil and to instead say something like “Cecil speaks.” This could result in people missing it as our eyes are attuned to the specific phrase, “The Master speaks.” I really doubt that using the phrase “Cecil Speaks” would bring opprobrium down on your head. I guess that I will leave this here, at least for a while, although it looks much more like an **IMHO** poll than a **Great Debate**. (Given the fact that Cece is clearly a smartass, I would doubt that _most_ people are actually expressing reverence for his person. Very few posters, here, would ever resort to the sort of sycophancy represented by [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5665836&postcount=2) and I doubt that you will find any shrines to Cecil in the homes of the Teeming Millions.) ---
**Author:** ![Iris\_Rings](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d78d45/32.png) [@Iris\_Rings](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iris_Rings)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/10 "2006-04-27T18:25:16Z")
Like the supreme all-knowing master of every faith, he is self-contradictory. So on the one hand, if you like supreme masters, he’s as good as any. And if you think there’s only posers out to hustle the faithful, he’s just one more. So either way it’s hard to get excited about it. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/11 "2006-04-27T19:25:46Z")
Only a master of EVIL, Cecil! If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine! Zzzzzz…whmmmm…KKKKKRAKKKKK…KKKK…whmmmmm…whmmmm…KKKKzzzz [/lightsaber\_noises] ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/12 "2006-04-27T19:28:20Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Nah. He’s just like any of us, actually. He’s a slob like one of us, you mean…just a stranger on a bus? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/13 "2006-04-27T19:40:58Z")
Cecil is the master of all knowledge, that’s how I take the phrase. And yes, I understand the joking spirit in which it is said. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/14 "2006-04-27T19:42:38Z")
> [@Fabulous Creature](#): > > He’s a slob like one of us, you mean…just a stranger on a bus? Whatever. I just can’t understand the reverence some have for him. = ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/15 "2006-04-27T19:52:24Z")
[Dictionary definitions of “master”.](http://dict.die.net/master/) When used to refer to Cecil the term means “an artist of consummate skill” not “a person who has general authority over others”. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/16 "2006-04-27T20:07:56Z")
I sure ain’t giving up my hotel room for him, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/17 "2006-04-27T20:15:12Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > I sure ain’t giving up my hotel room for him, that’s for sure. …aaaand **davenportavenger** wins the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/18 "2006-04-27T20:20:51Z")
You mean I wasn’t morally obligated to remove my testicles when he asked me to? Dammit. I wish someone had posted this thread last year. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/19 "2006-04-27T20:55:12Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > [Dictionary definitions of “master”.](http://dict.die.net/master/) > > When used to refer to Cecil the term means “an artist of consummate skill” not “a person who has general authority over others”. With a capital ‘M’? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478/20 "2006-04-27T20:55:46Z")
As I thought, no debate. On the other hand, it really has not even gone the way of a poll, so off to **MPSIMS** it goes. [/Moderating] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-cecil-your-master/354478.md?page=2)