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Marten & Faye's Apartment

10 (12.7%)

Coffee of Doom

30 (38%)

The Park

1 (1.3%)

The Library

6 (7.6%)

Sven's house

0 (0%)

The Space Station

18 (22.8%)

The Fighting Arena

1 (1.3%)

Other

3 (3.8%)

The Quarry

1 (1.3%)

Emily's Holiday House

2 (2.5%)

The Horrible Revelation (the pub that Will works at)

5 (6.3%)

The Park where Emily got bitten by a snake (such pretty scenery)

2 (2.5%)

Total Members Voted: 61

[oddtail]

FWIW, the Wikipedia page states that the word entrée originally meant the ceremonial "entrance" of dishes to the dining hall and came to denote a heavy meat course. It stays close to this early meaning in USA and parts of Canada, denoting the main dish; in modern times, it means "introductory dish" in France and the rest of the English-speaking world.

[Tova]

In English, entrée means "main course".  In French, entrée means "starter".  How this happened, probably the same way "pants" came to mean two very different items in American English and British English.  The French makes more sense: the course by which you enter the meal.

Change your first mention of "English" to "American English". Otherwise yes.

In Australia, and also England I think, the meaning of the word agrees with the French.

Is this linguistic oddity* confined to American English? I suspect so.

Edit: Apparently also in parts of Canada.

* Yes, I like that phrase.

[blt]

Is "raison d'être" not a common English borrowed phrase in other parts of the world?  I hear and read it more often in English than I do in French here, usually by managers or reporters trying to be fancy.

[Tova]

Yes, it is a fairly common phrase, like a certain je ne sais pas and savoir faire.

It is "je ne sais quoi", but I am leaving it as a warning against the dangers of careless posting.

[oddtail]

Yes, it is a fairly common phrase, like a certain je ne sais pas and savoir faire.

I thought it was, as a borrowed phrase in English, "a certain je ne sais quoi"?

[Tova]

Don't mind me. Yes, it is. 

[Stoutfellow]

Sorry. 

An entrée is more like a starter. I never understood the whole "entrée = main course" thing. If someone does know...

See http://languageoffood.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html for a good run-down of the history of the word. It's more complex than you might think.

[Neko_Ali]

"Personne n'échappe à mon regard." is about the only French I hear these days...

[JimC]

See http://languageoffood.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html for a good run-down of the history of the word. It's more complex than you might think.

Interesting. Quite a bit of verbal gymnastics going on there to support the US usage to my mind though.

[Kugai]

It would appear that the fell hand of change is coming to Coffee of Doom as Dora matures and settles down.

I wonder if Bubbles will become a fixture at CoD now she has her own very special chair.

[DSL]

See http://languageoffood.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html for a good run-down of the history of the word. It's more complex than you might think.

Interesting. Quite a bit of verbal gymnastics going on there to support the US usage to my mind though.

Seems more to me like a change in the style of serving dinners, with the words not catching up -- thus "entree" stayed with "fancy meat dish" even though that dish took a new prominence and position in the meal.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

"Personne n'échappe à mon regard." is about the only French I hear these days...

En quelle circonstance?

[BlueFatima]

Aw, come on, Faye. These are *good* things!

[Tova]

Faye's dislike of change hasn't changed.

[DSL]

Well, it changes things.

EDIT: Though as much change as Dora is exhibiting would be unsettling, up close and personal IRL.

[hedgie]

I wonder if Bubbles will become a fixture at CoD now she has her own very special chair.

If Bubbles ever decides to change chassis, the old one could actually *be* a fixture.

[mad hands murphy]

I used to feel the way Faye feels, except about indie rock comics turning into slice of life strips

[aliensporebomb]

Look.  Barry can get a spinoff but PLEASE do not depict the subject matter of his t-shirt.  That's all I ask, I think it's reasonable.

[brasca]

Wonder if it ever occurred to Faye that the old CoD would be the kind of place that wouldn't be very welcoming to an AI who's working through some serious social issues.

[cesium133]

Look.  Barry can get a spinoff but PLEASE do not depict the subject matter of his t-shirt.  That's all I ask, I think it's reasonable.

Sorry, no can do. Barry's a package deal. By that I mean, a dolphin package deal. 

[Gyrre]

You no, you should really be more serious about language. You shouldn't just take it for granite.

There's at least 3 other Wapsi Square readers in these forums. How has the pun jar not become manifest here, as well?

[Timemaster]

Good morning,

I´m waking up to Britain exitng the EU and Faye and Dora contemplating the pros and cons of change. Kinda appropriate.
Personaly I know change is inevitable but I tend to feel that the negative effects of change outnumber the positive ones.

But speaking of change, Jeph is experimenting with a lot of new facial expressions lately. Yesterday and today it´s very obvious, especially with Dora. In the last panel her smile reminds me of Dori from Finding Nemo. 
That´s a kind of change I like. Although I think he hasn´t mastered all of those new expresions yet. But this certainly livens up the graphics of dialogue-heavy strips like today.

Also a nice bit of information: Faye is still dry. Go girl, you can make it!

TM

[BenRG]

Ah, poor Faye! Still, that's the nature of kicking a habit; it's the associations that trigger the craving in the worst way. As Hanners suggested a long time ago, she should focus on her real priorities right now - Bubbles and handling the way the world has totally changed without her really noticing!

Personaly I know change is inevitable but I tend to feel that the negative effects of change outnumber the positive ones.

Negative outcomes always outweigh positive ones in the short-term. It takes a while to be able to judge the true result of a change (years, sometimes even decades in the political context). However, in this particular context, I think that time will persuade Faye that these changes are positive; that being happier and her friends being happier are worth the loss of the certainties of the familiar.

But speaking of change, Jeph is experimenting with a lot of new facial expressions lately. Yesterday and today it´s very obvious, especially with Dora.

Yeah; he's being working hard to grow his artistic style recently in lots of ways. There are going to be the occasional missed step or messed-up face or expression but that's inevitable as he learns new things and works out the kins. Overall, I've been finding Faye's elastic face and exaggerated expressions quite intriguing and Dora has looked more beautiful than ever.

[Kugai]

Dammit, that's one thought that Faye doesn't need considering her problems with alcahol.

[Is it cold in here?]

I wonder if Bubbles will become a fixture at CoD now she has her own very special chair.

If Bubbles ever decides to change chassis, the old one could actually *be* a fixture.

Unless, of course, someone else wants to move into it. May, for example.

[Gyrre]

Where the word "with" comes from is unclear to me, it doesn't sound like it's related to either 'med/mit/mee' or 'avec', not even to 'cum'.

Quote from OED:
OE. wið = OFris. with, OS. wið, ON. við (Sw. vid, Da. ved): app. a shortening (peculiar to the Anglo-Frisian and Scandinavian areas) of the Com. Teut. *wider- (see s.v. wither a. and adv. and wither-1), perh. taking place orig. in compounds (cf. with- and the parallelism of OE. wiþcéosan and wiþercéosan to reject, wiþstandan and wiþerstandan to withstand, etc.).

Maybe someone understands that  . . .

Looks like I'm way late to this party, so here are the abbreviations

Abreviations
OE. Old English
OFris. Old Frisian
ON. the opposite of OFF Old Norse
Sw. Swedish
Da. Russian for 'yes' Danish
Com. Teut,. Common Teutonic
OS. Operating System Old Saxon
s.v. [couldn't find]
perh. perhaps
orig. originally
c.f. [couldn't find]


And as a bonus, here's what I got from the 1968 college edition of the 'Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language' (I collect old books).

with (with, with), preposition. [Middle English; Anglo-Saxon, origin, against; in opposition to; probably shortened < AS. wither, against; Indo-European base *wi-, asunder, separate, of which AS. wither, against (German wider) would represent the comparison (dual) form]

*hypothetical


Hopefully this doesn't get moved to Discuss

[Tova]

I think 'cf' means 'compare,' more or less.

sv... google-fu powers activate!

sv sub verbo, ‘under the word’
http://public.oed.com/how-to-use-the-oed/abbreviations/#s

cf.    confer, ‘compare’
http://public.oed.com/how-to-use-the-oed/abbreviations/#c

There ya go.

[Gyrre]

Yes, it is a fairly common phrase, like a certain je ne sais pas and savoir faire.

It is "je ne sais quoi", but I am leaving it as a warning against the dangers of careless posting.

....... So for all the shit we Kansans get about "being backwards ⃰", we do a good job at getting French right???
I've only ever heard people say "je ne sais quoi" and I've seen 'entree' used correctly in restaurants (some not all).
The town of La Cygne is said "lă sēn" by the locals, and they say the name of the local landmark Marais de la Cygne "mə-rī dā lă sēn".


To be fair, we're not that great at Spanish. Salina (saw-LIE-nuh) and El Dorado (el doe-RAY-doe). But it's better than Colorado's La Junta (luh-huh-nuh).

 ⃰specifically for allowing 'intelligent design' to be brought up in public schools, and for the existence of the Westboro "Baptist" "Church". Some even joke it's why Pluto got demoted.

[BenRG]

I wonder if Bubbles will become a fixture at CoD now she has her own very special chair.

If Bubbles ever decides to change chassis, the old one could actually *be* a fixture.

Unless, of course, someone else wants to move into it. May, for example.

Actually, I could see May sitting in Bubbles' lap and looking around defiantly at everyone's surprised expressions.

[Tova]

Yes, it is a fairly common phrase, like a certain je ne sais pas and savoir faire.

It is "je ne sais quoi", but I am leaving it as a warning against the dangers of careless posting.

....... So for all the shit we Kansans get about "being backwards ⃰", we do a good job at getting French right???

Sheesh, sorry.

[MrNumbers]

@TimeMaster

On the downside to the Brexit, the Australian dollar tanked three cents.

On the plus side, my Patreon is collected in USD! My country's loss is my personal gain!

... now I know how corporations feel.

[Gyrre]

Yes, it is a fairly common phrase, like a certain je ne sais pas and savoir faire.

It is "je ne sais quoi", but I am leaving it as a warning against the dangers of careless posting.

....... So for all the shit we Kansans get about "being backwards ⃰", we do a good job at getting French right???

Sheesh, sorry.

Did a massive edit to my response. My apologies for it seeming curt.

I fumbled my phone and hit 'post' by mistake.

[cesium133]

You no, you should really be more serious about language. You shouldn't just take it for granite.

There's at least 3 other Wapsi Square readers in these forums. How has the pun jar not become manifest here, as well?

It had, but then someone said to tip it after a pun, and one thing led to another and now there are coins all over the floor.

[drmike]

Look at the coffee-shop itself, the colours itself present a place that is warm and welcoming. It just looks like Dora is finally catching up to the image of Coffee of Doom she's been presenting for the past few years.

I don't know about others but red and mustard(?) are not very welcoming to me.

[retrosteve]

Good God, Jeph, what's with the LIPS? Is it just me or have Dora's and Faye's lips grown to mutant mecha size? And begun to eat their faces...

Should I be afraid?

[blue5]

Good God, Jeph, what's with the LIPS? Is it just me or have Dora's and Faye's lips grown to mutant mecha size? And begun to eat their faces...

Should I be afraid?

I noticed that too. I hope he is not having issues with his hand again.


People come to the CoD not for its welcoming atmosphere, people come to get a shot of insultesso. an espresso loaded with insults.

[brasca]

Look at the coffee-shop itself, the colours itself present a place that is warm and welcoming. It just looks like Dora is finally catching up to the image of Coffee of Doom she's been presenting for the past few years.

I don't know about others but red and mustard(?) are not very welcoming to me.

Those are McDonald's colors and they seem to do quite well for themselves. 

[Method of Madness]

How is mustard a color? Mustard comes in several colors!

[Tova]

Different shades of mustard. 

[DSL]

I mustard mitt I like those colors.

[chaospersonified]

Different shades of mustard. 

Fifty Shades of Grey Poupon

[BenRG]

Official Poll Results!

1. Coffee of Doom - 30 (38%)
2. The Space Station - 18 (22.8%)
3. Marten & Faye's Apartment - 10 (12.7%)
4. The Library - 6 (7.6%)
5.  The Horrible Revelation (the pub that Will works at) - 5 (6.3%)
6. Other - 3 (3.8%)
=7. Emily's Holiday House - 2 (2.5%)
=7. The Park where Emily got bitten by a snake (such pretty scenery) - 2 (2.5%) *
=9. The Park - 1 (1.3%)
=9. The Fighting Arena - 1 (1.3%)
=9. The Quarry - 1 (1.3%)
12. Sven's house - 0 (0%)

Perhaps it isn't surprising that Sven's house came bottom - the only really significant event to occur there is the Dorapocalypse; proof I think that some wounds run deep for the fandom. That said, I can't help but be puzzled by the fact that it scored worse than the Quarry, a hypothetical location that we've never actually seen in the strip!

* I don't think that the snake bite occurred in a park; I think that there are some wild woods near Northampton where Sam likes to go reptile and amphibian hunting.

[Storel]

"Raisin d' être". Really? Is that supposed to be Faye being sarcastic (doesn't really fit the sobriety of her sentiment), or i it a honest typo?

As Jeph's note says: "Faye is good at French"

I'm taking that as "Jeph knows better, but Faye doesn't."

[Is it cold in here?]

I agree with what Bubbles is doing but can't explain how it's different from stalking. I mean, I know it is, but can't articulate why.

[Method of Madness]

...neither can I. I really want to, but I can't.

[Penquin47]

Intent, perhaps?  Openness?  Bubbles hasn't followed Faye anywhere she'd reasonably expect to have privacy - public roads and a business that Bubbles doesn't seem to have entered.  Faye is aware that Bubbles is tagging along and has a general idea why.  Stalkers generally don't go up to the person they're stalking and say "Hey, I'm going with you as you go about your business because I'm worried about you."

[sitnspin]

Having been on the receiving end of stalking, intent, openness, and consent are the key factors in keeping it from being stalking. Bubbles has made her intentions and motivations clear and Faye has accepted. Also important is the previously established mutual friendship.

[Morituri]

Stalking is not nearly so much about what you do as it is about what kind of person you are being by doing it.  It's subtle. 

[Redball]

Intent is the key. Bubbles is protecting Faye. Faye knows what she's doing is self-destructive.