# Pearls Before Swine comic strip 10/28/2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755 "2010-10-29T12:48:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/1 "2010-10-29T12:48:54Z")
Is this a sodomy joke, or do I just have a dirty mind? If it is not a sodomy joke, what else might the cartoonist be implying? [http://comics.com/pearls\_before\_swine/2010-10-28/](http://comics.com/pearls_before_swine/2010-10-28/) ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/2 "2010-10-29T13:07:34Z")
I suppose it could mean that. I read it more as the mouse is screwing over the pig by making up rules. I notice the mouse has boxing gloves on. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/3 "2010-10-29T13:23:45Z")
Boxing gloves are for the punch in the nose. I think it’s definitely a sodomy joke, though Pastis could claim that Pig gets locked in the shed or something. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/4 "2010-10-29T13:34:42Z")
I think probably not, though I can see where one might reasonably speculate on that. It seems clear to me that “because it means I smell” refers to having B.O., that being Rat’s twisted interpretation of the B & O Railroad. But getting punched in the nose is not a normal consequence of having B.O., it’s just Rat milking the opportunity to be sadistic. In general, going to jail is worse than having B.O., so it makes some sense that the punishment from Rat would be worse than that for landing on the railroad. But said punishment could be something just as nonsensical as getting punched for stinking. I would make a small case over getting sodomized as associated with being in prison rather than being in jail, and a larger case over a sodomy joke not being the type of thing Pastis would put in his strip. He knows no bounds when it comes to bad puns, but I don’t recall anything of such a risque nature popping up before. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/5 "2010-10-29T14:21:46Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > I would make a small case over getting sodomized as associated with being in prison rather than being in jail, and a larger case over a sodomy joke not being the type of thing Pastis would put in his strip. He knows no bounds when it comes to bad puns, but I don’t recall anything of such a risque nature popping up before. Agreed. A prison rape joke would be jarring and out of place compared to the rest of Pastis’ humor. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/6 "2010-10-29T15:37:05Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > He knows no bounds when it comes to bad puns, but I don’t recall anything of such a risque nature popping up before. God, Pastis is practically Robinsonian in the lengths he’ll go to to set up a horrible pun! I don’t know what’s worse, the pun itself or the fact that for the really elaborate ones he’ll invariably have a final panel of Rat telling him (Pastis) off for it. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/7 "2010-10-29T16:12:59Z")
I was thinking beaten with a truncheon. Or tazed. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/8 "2010-10-29T16:39:04Z")
Heh, I guess I have a dirty mind too, because I thought all the responses would be “of course it’s a sodomy joke! Jail/prison jokes are always about sodomy!” But noooo, you all have to be “Pastis is too clean for that!” Fiddlesticks, sez I. Sodomy or nothing! Roddy ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/9 "2010-10-29T16:43:17Z")
I don’t see how it could be anything _but_ a prison rape joke. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/10 "2010-10-29T16:46:25Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Heh, I guess I have a dirty mind too, because I thought all the responses would be “of course it’s a sodomy joke! Jail/prison jokes are always about sodomy!” > > But noooo, you all have to be “Pastis is too clean for that!” Fiddlesticks, sez I. Sodomy or nothing! > Roddy “Rum, sodomy or the lash?” “Yes, please!” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/11 "2010-10-29T16:54:28Z")
[Wouldn’t call PBS clean, really…](http://comics.com/pearls_before_swine/2010-09-13/) ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/12 "2010-10-29T17:23:59Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > …I don’t recall anything of such a risque nature popping up before. Only because [he has a diligent editor](http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/is-that-a-banana-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-happy-to-hear-from-your-editor/)…and an interesting blog. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/13 "2010-10-29T17:32:15Z")
I don’t think it’s supposed to refer to anything, specifically. Just the idea that if landing on B&O is worthy of such a mean punishment, landing in jail must bring something much much worse. Leaving it deliberately vague lets you fill in the details on your own. Sure, a lot of you may go right to sodomy, but that’s on you, not him. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/14 "2010-10-29T18:12:12Z")
Have y’all seen the animated "[Pearls Before Swine"?](http://www.babelgum.com/browser.php#play/SEARCH,channelID:180805,order:FEATURED/0,6003113). ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/15 "2010-10-29T18:13:37Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > God, Pastis is practically Robinsonian in the lengths he’ll go to to set up a horrible pun! I don’t know what’s worse, the pun itself or the fact that for the really elaborate ones he’ll invariably have a final panel of Rat telling him (Pastis) off for it. Forgive me, jayjay, but in the words of Foghorn Leghorn, I must be built too low to the ground because the term “Robinsonian” went right over my head. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/16 "2010-10-29T18:14:54Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Forgive me, jayjay, but in the words of Foghorn Leghorn, I must be built too low to the ground because the term “Robinsonian” went right over my head. Perhaps Spider Robinson? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/17 "2010-10-29T18:20:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Have y’all seen the animated "[Pearls Before Swine"?](http://www.babelgum.com/browser.php#play/SEARCH,channelID:180805,order:FEATURED/0,6003113). Oh, wow. It’s amazing how wrong the voices are… ---
**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:** [October 29, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/18 "2010-10-29T18:32:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Perhaps Spider Robinson? **Czarcasm** got it. In Spider Robinson’s Callahan series, a tradition of Callahan’s bar is the recitation of very elaborate, very abominable puns. Some of Pastis’s Sunday strips remind me of abbreviated versions of that kind of pun. (“Go directly from the sub, Lime, to the Reed oculist”, anyone?) ---
**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:** [October 29, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/19 "2010-10-29T18:42:04Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > **Czarcasm** got it. In Spider Robinson’s Callahan series, a tradition of Callahan’s bar is the recitation of very elaborate, very abominable puns. Some of Pastis’s Sunday strips remind me of abbreviated versions of that kind of pun. > > (“Go directly from the sub, Lime, to the Reed oculist”, anyone?) Only on Punday, and the winner got her/his/it’s bar tab for the night taken care of, so everyone drank as much as possible, and the bar came out ahead. By the way, wasn’t that one of Doc’s submissions? ---
**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:** [October 29, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755/20 "2010-10-29T18:43:20Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Only on Punday, and the winner got her/his/it’s bar tab for the night taken care of, so everyone drank as much as possible, and the bar came out ahead. By the way, wasn’t that one of Doc’s submissions? I do believe. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pearls-before-swine-comic-strip-10-28-2010/558755.md?page=2)