# 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:** 86
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1701 "2013-12-21T13:49:02Z")
“Andy Capp” is the local pronunciation of “handicap.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1702 "2013-12-21T13:51:53Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > “Andy Capp” is the local pronunciation of “handicap.” Doesn’t really describe the character, though, does it? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1703 "2013-12-21T13:53:23Z")
… derp ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1704 "2013-12-21T13:57:46Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Doesn’t really describe the character, though, does it? 😕 But that _is_ the meaning, [according to Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_capp). Maybe it’s his personality that’s the handicap. That strip has a vociferous following in the _Bangkok Post_. A couple of years ago, they announced they would stop running it and were bombarded with letters. They published some. One letter writer was suspiciously named Bud Weiser, and I’m not sure the paper got the joke. Possibly a handful of Brit retirees in Pattaya got together to send all the letters, dunno, but the _Post_ backtracked and reinstated _Andy Capp_ with much fanfare. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1705 "2013-12-21T14:01:50Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1706 "2013-12-21T14:13:38Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > But that _is_ the meaning, [according to Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_capp). Maybe it’s his personality that’s the handicap. I’d have to guess either Flo or his alcoholism. Or gambling. Or maybe he’s Flo’s handicap in life. Anyway, I’ve always loved the strip too. I didn’t know it was still being done. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1707 "2013-12-21T15:30:05Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Doesn’t really describe the character, though, does it? 😕 His 'andicap is that he doesn’t pronounce a leading H. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1708 "2013-12-21T16:41:26Z")
I haven’t read the strip in years, but didn’t Andy Capp also golf a lot? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1709 "2013-12-21T22:20:11Z")
No, I’ve never seen him play golf. He’s not the type. Pool and rugby, that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1710 "2013-12-21T23:01:20Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I haven’t read the strip in years, but didn’t Andy Capp also golf a lot? Not the right class at all. As **Siam Sam** says, Andy’s more the beer and skittles down t’pub bracket than the St. Andrew’s bracket. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1711 "2013-12-21T23:52:45Z")
Wasn’t he into horse racing and betting? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1712 "2013-12-22T00:45:49Z")
Yes, that too. As a matter of fact, Saturday’s strip saw him and Flo at the track. He’s also into pigeon racing. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2013, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1713 "2013-12-22T06:22:31Z")
I don’t think this has been mentioned yet, and it may be a bit more obscure, but I read a J.R.R. Tolkien short story when I was a kid called “Leaf By Niggle.” In it, there was an artist named Niggle who in the first half of the story was constantly distracted from his paintings by troublesome tasks he had to do for his neighbor Mr. Parish. He was also annoyed by the thought of a journey he would have to be taking at some point in the future, that he didn’t really want to go on. This culminated in his running what he thought to be a wholly unnecessary errand for Mr. Parish, riding his bicycle through cold and rainy weather when he was already coming down with a case of the flu. After running this errand, he arrived home to find somebody waiting for him to take him on the journey he had been dreading, being very rushed and insistent and not leaving Niggle any time to collect his things. The second half of the story is quite different, where Niggle is first confined to a dark room, listened to voices in the darkness discussing his behavior, and finally he’s sent off to a different and much more pleasant country and surprised to be accompanied by his neighbor Parish. As a kid it just seemed an odd story to me, but looking back now it seems obvious that the journey he’d been dreading was in fact death. Niggle had died of pneumonia after his rainy bicycle ride, and the entire second half of the story was set in his afterlife. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1714 "2013-12-23T02:51:58Z")
All I remember about Andy Capp is that he is a huge drunk and that his wife makes snarky comments to him about it. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1715 "2013-12-23T05:15:45Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > “Sky of blue and sea of green” by addition equals “Yellow” (submarine) cannot be intentional. Although it is a nice observation in a particular critical approach that dismisses authorial intention. OK, I just saw this. Well, it might be if it were true. Actually it is _red_ and green that additively make yellow. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1716 "2013-12-23T06:56:23Z")
Saw Anchorman 2 last night. Just figured out why Steve Carrell’s character is called Brick. Because he’s thick as one. ---
**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:** [December 23, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1717 "2013-12-23T13:08:43Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > “Andy Capp” is the local pronunciation of “handicap.” I never noticed that. It’s in the fine tradition of British cartoon characters, though. Arguably the first newspaper cartoon\* was Ally Sloper, who came to headline a feature – _Ally Sloper’s Half-Holiday_. “Ally Sloper” was “Alley Sloper” – someone who snuck off (“sloped”) down an alley to escape his creditors. Like Andy, Ally was a habitual drinker, with the drinker’s nose to prove it. > **[Ally Sloper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_Sloper)** > > Alexander "Ally" Sloper is the eponymous fictional character of the British comic strip Ally Sloper. First appearing in 1867, he is one of the earliest characters in comic strips. > Red-nosed and blustery, an archetypal lazy schemer often found "sloping" through alleys to avoid his landlord and other creditors, he was created for the British magazine Judy by writer and fledgling artist Charles H. Ross, and inked and later fully illustrated by his French wife Émilie de Tessier under the pseudonym ... \*In US histories, they say that Richard Outcalt’s _The Yellow Kid_ from the New York World was (that turns out not to be true, though, even for the US). But Ally Sloper is older than The Yellow Kid by three decades. > **[Don Markstein's Toonopedia: The Yellow Kid](http://toonopedia.com/yellow.htm)** > > Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation > **[Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Ally Sloper](http://toonopedia.com/sloper.htm)** > > Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1718 "2013-12-23T17:16:45Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > “Ally Sloper” was “Alley Sloper” – someone who snuck off (“sloped”) down an alley to escape his creditors. Like Andy, Ally was a habitual drinker, with the drinker’s nose to prove it. He looks remarkably like WC Fields! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1719 "2013-12-23T17:26:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > In US histories, they say that Richard Outcalt’s _The Yellow Kid_ from the New York World was (that turns out not to be true, though, even for the US). I always thought it was these guys: > **[Don Markstein's Toonopedia: The Katzenjammer Kids](http://toonopedia.com/katzen.htm)** > > Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation _ **MAD Magazine** _ once did obituaries for beloved comics characters. The Katzenjammer Kids were blown up while working on a homemade bomb intended for the Captain and the Inspector. The obituary noted they had been expelled from Germany in 1913 for being “too warlike.” My favorite was “Prince Valiant, a crusading knight, died today of natural causes. He was 649.” ---
**Author:** ![Marlonius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Marlonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlonius)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/1720 "2013-12-23T18:52:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The picture is on several internet sites, like this one: > > [Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds – song facts, recording info and more! | The Beatles Bible](http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds/) [https://www.proxibid.com/AuctionImages/5252/62109/FullSize/140.jpg](https://www.proxibid.com/AuctionImages/5252/62109/FullSize/140.jpg) …and the Playboy magazine had a woman in a sky full of stars on its cover. [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=85) [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=87)