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Tuesday September 11, 2012

In today's strip on 9/10/12 Michael talks about his new teacher and refers to a "yellow budgie". What's a "budgie"?

Chris, Roanoke, VA, USA

Hi Chris! A budgie is a small bird - also known as a parakeet. Like Fran's students, my children had a look of bewilderment when a teacher walked into the pediatrician's waiting room!

Geri C

I think you're the only one who uses 'biff', Lynn -- it's #50 on Urban Dictionary's definition of the term. Same with 'Garburator', which from what I can tell is a term used exclusively in BC, rather than a 'Canadianism'.

Molly S

Wow, so many interesting things one learns when reading "For Better or For Worse"! I, too, was confused by the usage of the word "biff". I grew up with "biff" meaning "hit or punch", and that's how my dictionaries define the word. Otherwise, it's apparently used fairly widely as a name (usually a nickname), it's the name of a computer mail program, it's a slang term for "marijuana joint", it's Aussie slang for "fighting", and it's an acronym for various film festivals, among other current uses. After doing some research, it looks like "biff" meaning "toilet" is derived as a contraction of "biffy" (not to be confused with the rock band Biffy Clyro), which is an old-timey regional colloquialism (usually cited as Upper Midwest USA) for "toilet", and likely derived from a corruption of the word "privy". I should ask my friend Shelley up in North Dakota if she has heard of the term!

Candice C, Milwaukee WI

Thank you for the reply. But frankly, even the b&w (http://catalog.fborfw.com/indexid.php?q=464) version looks more like skin than pants to me; if I were the colourist, I would have made the same choices. I don't really see how it could be mistaken for a forearm (would almost have to dislocate his shoulder to hang at that angle). If you didn't get an answer to your "biff" usage question, it's one of the tags used with this http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwallick/4950263950/ "biffy" photo. Biffy is more common (though with Twitter shortening words, perhaps not anymore), but I, for one, didn't need an explanation. Thanks for entertaining me all these years.

MB

When I read the strip of Lawrence coming out it I was amazed and Although I'm not gay it gave me the courge to be who I really am. I'm an Atheist and told my Family and friends most were okay with it but it took mom a few hours because she was shocked and my uncle preached to me but regardless my mom supported my views and so did my most of my family and my friends.

Cameron Miller

Cameron Miller, I know what you went through! I'm an Eclectic Wiccan, and I "came out of the broom closet" while I was in college, about the same time Lynn ran the strip where Lawrence revealed he was gay. Sadly, my family was not nearly so accepting of my religion-my parents actually tried to stop me and my husband from having our wedding ceremony in our religion, and a year later I nearly got disowned for refusing to take Communion at my grandfather's memorial service! Fortunately, my family FINALLY came around and accepted our religion-I just wish that it hadn't taken them a full nine years to do so! Sadly, others never have their families accept them, and my heart breaks for their pain.

Amanda, Maryland, USA