# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 218
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4345 "2021-09-16T13:26:10Z")
Me and you and a dog named Boo, traveling and living off the land… Sounds great, right? The only way to live off the land over time is farming. Farming and traveling don’t exactly go together. I don’t think you’d randomly encounter enough sustenance just growing in the wild to live a robust, plant-heavy life AND continue to move from location to location. Especially if you’ve had no formal survival training to speak of. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4346 "2021-09-16T18:38:57Z")
Thievery is also “living off the land.” Stealing fruit, veggies and such. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4347 "2021-09-16T18:57:45Z")
Also hunting. Humans have “lived off the land” for most of the time our species has existed, and some groups still do even today. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4348 "2021-09-16T19:11:02Z")
I tried to find Annie’s original post to get some context but this thread is just too frickin’ long. Anyway, I never took those lyrics to mean literally “living off the land” as in foraging for fruit and berries. I always thought it was meant as shorthand for moving along and taking odd jobs / doing whatever to maintain daily sustenance. In other words, eschewing the conventional life and going wherever the singer’s dreams took him. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2021, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4349 "2021-09-16T19:26:56Z")
Yeah. They’re drifters, of the _Easy Rider_ variety, but with thumbs instead of motorcycles. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4350 "2021-10-12T00:31:32Z")
If we can count naming products as a “creative work”, I only just realized last night that Pop Secret brand popcorn is a play on the phrase “top secret”. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4351 "2021-10-13T17:19:10Z")
Sure. But the guy in the song doesn’t sound like someone who’s setting out to stalk deer with a bow & arrow, field dress it, salt and smoke it… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4352 "2021-10-13T17:30:07Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Yeah. They’re drifters, of the _Easy Rider_ variety, but with thumbs instead of motorcycles. “They had a huge nest egg. They sold cocaine.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4353 "2021-10-14T02:03:54Z")
They actually experimented to get it right, for all the good it ended up doing them. It wasn’t _buoyant_ enough to hold them both. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4354 "2021-10-14T04:05:29Z")
Sir Lancelot. Lancelot. Lance a lot. He was a jouster. 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4355 "2021-10-14T09:53:02Z")
That’s more a back-formation. There are many theories as to the origin of the name, but that’s not one of them. Quote the Wiki: > [@](#): > > There have been many theories regarding the origins of Lancelot as an [Arthurian romance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthurian_romance) character. In these postulated by [Ferdinand Lot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Lot) and [Roger Sherman Loomis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Sherman_Loomis), he is related to Llenlleog (Llenlleawc), an Irishman in _[Culhwch and Olwen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culhwch_and_Olwen)_ (which associates him with the “headland of Gan(i)on”), and the Welsh hero Llwch Llawwynnauc (most likely a version of the [euhemerised](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euhemerism) Irish deity [Lugh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugh) Lonbemnech, with " _Llwch_ " meaning “Lake” in [Welsh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language)), possibly via a now-forgotten epithet such as _Lamhcalad_ ,[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-:0-1) suggesting that they are the same figure. Their similarities beyond the name include wielding a sword and fighting for a cauldron (in _[Preiddeu Annwn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preiddeu_Annwn)_ and _Culhwch_ ). [T. Gwynn Jones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Gwynn_Jones) claimed links between Lancelot and [Eliwlod](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliwlod), a nephew of Arthur in the Welsh legend. Proponents of the [Scythian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythia) origins of the Arthurian legend have speculated that an early form might have been _Alanus-à-Lot_ , that is “[Alan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans) of the [Lot River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lot_River)”,[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-2) while those looking for clues in antiquity see elements of Lancelot in the [Ancient Greek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek) mythical figures of Askalos and Mopsus (Moxus).[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-3) > > Alfred Anscombe proposed in 1913 that the name “Lancelot” came from Germanic \* _Wlancloth_ , with roots in the [Old English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English) _wlenceo_ (pride) and _loða_ (cloak),[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-4) in connection with [Vinoviloth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinoviloth), the name of a [Gothic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths) chief or tribe mentioned in the _[Getica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getica)_ (6th century).[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-5) According to more recent scholars, such as [Norma Lorre Goodrich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norma_Lorre_Goodrich), the name, if not just an invention of the 12th-century French poet [Chrétien de Troyes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chr%C3%A9tien_de_Troyes), may have been derived from [Geoffrey of Monmouth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_of_Monmouth)’s character Anguselaus, probably a Latinised name of Unguist, the name of a son of the 6th-century [Pictish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picts) king Forgus; when translated from Geoffrey’s [Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin) into [Old French](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_French), it would become _Anselaus_ .[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-origins-6) Other 6th-century figures proposed in modern times as candidates for the prototype of Lancelot include the early French saint Fraimbault de Lassay;[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-7) [Maelgwn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maelgwn_Gwynedd), king of [Gwynedd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwynedd);[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-8) and Llaennog (Llaenauc), father of [Gwallog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwallog_ap_Llaennog), king of [Elmet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmet).[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-9) > > Lancelot may have been the hero of a folk tale that was originally independent but was ultimately absorbed into the Arthurian tradition. The theft of an infant by a water [fairy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy), the appearance of the hero at a tournament on three consecutive days in three different disguises, and the rescue of a queen or princess from an [Otherworld](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Otherworld) prison are all features of a well-known and widespread tale, variants of which are found in numerous examples collected by [Theodore Hersart de la Villemarqué](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Hersart_de_la_Villemarqu%C3%A9) in his _[Barzaz Breiz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barzaz_Breiz)_ , by [Emmanuel Cosquin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_Cosquin) in his _Contes Lorrains_ , and by [John Francis Campbell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Francis_Campbell) in his _Tales of the West Highlands_ . As for his name, “Lancelot” may be a variant of the common name “Lancelin” (as proposed by [Gaston Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_Paris) in 1881, later supported by [Rachel Bromwich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Bromwich)).[[10]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-10) It is also possibly derived from the Old French word _L’Ancelot_ , meaning “Servant” (the hypothesis first put forward by de la Villemarqué in 1842); Lancelot’s name is actually written this way in several manuscripts.[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot#cite_note-origins-6) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4356 "2021-10-14T11:27:37Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Sir Lancelot. > > Lancelot. > > Lance a lot. > > He was a jouster. > > :man\_facepalmining I didn’t _just_ realize it, but I thought that was the significance of the name too. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4357 "2021-10-14T14:30:19Z")
It took a while before I realized that the 3 crime-detecting oracles in the movie Minority Report are named after pioneering authors of detective fiction - Agatha (Christie), Arthur (Conan Doyle) and Dashiell (Hammett). ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4358 "2021-10-14T15:01:03Z")
A stupid one: it took me aaaaaaages to get the “Banana Guard” joke in _Adventure Time_. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4359 "2021-10-14T15:04:51Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > the “Banana Guard” joke in _Adventure Time_ . Which was…? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4360 "2021-10-14T15:36:18Z")
Princess Bubblegum’s guards are banana guards. They look like this (not counting Finn and Jake there): [![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/d43c7afcfd3b2d9594c4448eee282713/tumblr_o4gr8voLD51so18vqo1_500.gif) ](https://64.media.tumblr.com/d43c7afcfd3b2d9594c4448eee282713/tumblr_o4gr8voLD51so18vqo1_500.gif) The joke is that [“banana guards” are a real thing](https://www.lakeland.co.uk/10380/Banana-Guard-Holder-Case?src=gfeed&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxtCbnZ3K8wIVl7d3Ch1a7Q3ZEAQYASABEgKdfPD_BwE) - they’re containers used to transport individual bananas without brusing: ---
**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:** [October 14, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4361 "2021-10-14T19:47:20Z")
> [@jerseymule](#): > > And I remember gleaning the information that the word “defendant” obviously meant “a person who is innocent but who is unfairly accused of a crime.” Heh, when I was a kid I thought the difference between “hero” and “heroine” was _not_ a gender one, but that a hero was someone who did the saving, and the heroine was the one who got saved. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4362 "2021-10-14T23:03:13Z")
I got confused by “heroine” and “heroin”… ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4363 "2021-10-15T03:29:46Z")
I have trouble with clause/Claus. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/4364 "2021-10-15T03:51:37Z")
You can’t fool me. There ain’t no sanity clause. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=217) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117.md?page=219)