Editing 2919: Sitting in a Tree
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | “[Name] and [name], sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G” | + | {{incomplete|Created by a PAIR OF BOTS SITTING IN A TREE E-D-I-T-I-N-G - ♫First come comments, ♫Then these made neat, ♫But ONLY when it's accurate, then should you the tag delete!♫}} |
+ | |||
+ | “[Name] and [name], sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G” is the start of a common US schoolyard taunt to tease others about their alleged romance. As the comic notes, there are a range of normal seven-letter gerunds - nouns made by ending a verb in “ing" - that may be used in the rhyme. | ||
Like other schoolyard taunts, the goal may be to elicit a reaction of frustration, anger or embarrassment. It may also just be chanted at a random set of two kids, such as part of a {{w|counting-out game}}. | Like other schoolyard taunts, the goal may be to elicit a reaction of frustration, anger or embarrassment. It may also just be chanted at a random set of two kids, such as part of a {{w|counting-out game}}. | ||
− | This comic lists a | + | This comic lists a variety of seven-letter gerunds which Cueball and Megan could be accused of performing in a tree, and organizes them into three categories: Normal, Slightly Worrying and Very Alarming. Each list of gerunds has an illustration of its last one: kissing, ironing and smiting, respectively. |
Normal: | Normal: | ||
− | : | + | :{{w|Reading|'''Reading'''}} |
− | + | :{{w|Singing|'''Singing'''}} | |
− | + | :{{w|Playing|'''Playing'''}} | |
− | + | :{{w|Sharing|'''Sharing'''}} | |
− | + | :{{w|Hugging|'''Hugging'''}} | |
− | : | + | :{{w|Kissing|'''Kissing'''}} This is the activity illustrated in the panel. |
Slightly worrying: | Slightly worrying: | ||
− | : | + | :{{w|Sobbing|'''Sobbing'''}} is an act of crying or weeping, e.g. due to a setback in one's relationship, or perhaps due to being stuck up a tree. |
− | : | + | :{{w|Itching|'''Itching'''}} is feeling a sensation on one's skin that makes one want to scratch or rub it, and may happen due to mosquito bites or other bugs, or perhaps an allergic reaction to a tree. |
− | : | + | :{{w|Pruning|'''Pruning'''}} is cutting off the branches of a tree, which is very dangerous if one is sitting on said branch.{{Citation needed}} |
− | : | + | :{{w|Banking|'''Banking'''}} is conducting financial business with a bank. |
− | : | + | :{{w|Post#Communications|'''Posting'''}} is to publish posts on social media, this might also refer to {{w|Mail|mailing}} by using a postal service. |
− | : | + | :{{w|Ironing|'''Ironing'''}} is smoothing clothes with an iron and ironing board. This is the activity illustrated in the panel. |
Very alarming: | Very alarming: | ||
− | : | + | :{{w|Molting|'''Molting'''}} is shedding one's skin. |
− | : | + | :{{w|Whaling|'''Whaling'''}} is hunting whales, which has been outlawed in the US since the 1980s. Whales aren't usually found in trees.<sup>[''{{w|List of cetaceans|cetacean needed}}'']</sup> And since the letter 'W' is three syllables when said aloud, this is the only gerund in the comic that doesn't have the standard seven syllables of the traditional taunt. |
− | : | + | :{{w|E-filing|'''E-filing'''}}, not to be confused with defiling, is submitting one's tax returns online. This comic was published a few days before the US tax deadline. This could quite reasonably be done from a tree using a laptop or other portable computing device. |
− | : | + | :{{w|Melting|'''Melting'''}} is turning from a solid state to a liquid state, which is usually fatal.{{Citation needed}} |
− | : | + | :{{w|Radiography|'''X-raying'''}} is emitting or receiving {{w|X-ray}} radiation. With enough radiation, the X-rays could be fatal. X-rays are not normally conducted in trees. |
− | : | + | :[[wikt:smite#English|'''Smiting''']] is striking down, destroying, or killing, often with divine power called from a god. This is the activity illustrated in the panel. |
− | The title text continues the S-M-I-T-I-N-G version of the chant with a parody of the traditional {{w|Children's song#Game songs|next verses}}, "...first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage" (which reflects the common social expectations that any kissers might follow the path of). Instead, the parody appears to be a dark prophecy about the grim ramifications of smiting | + | The title text continues the S-M-I-T-I-N-G version of the chant with a parody of the traditional {{w|Children's song#Game songs|next verses}}, "...first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage" (which reflects the common social expectations that any kissers might follow the path of). Instead, the parody appears to be a dark prophecy about the grim ramifications of smiting conducted by the taunted kids: |
# blood | # blood | ||
− | # the | + | # the mass expiry of the taunt singers |
− | # the vehicular arrival of a {{w| | + | # the vehicular arrival of a {{w|Death_(personification)|personified Death}}. |
− | It might indeed be alarming to | + | It might, indeed, be alarming to some for schoolkids to be singing so jauntily about two peers divinely striking them to death from a tree, though perhaps only to those who haven't heard many schoolyard chants. |
− | The last line may be an allusion to the Emily Dickinson poem "[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47652/because-i-could-not-stop-for-death-479 Because I Could Not Stop For Death]", which refers both to Death riding in a carriage and eternity. The comic was posted in April, National Poetry Month | + | The last line may be an allusion to the Emily Dickinson poem "[https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47652/because-i-could-not-stop-for-death-479 Because I Could Not Stop For Death]", which refers both to Death riding in a carriage and to eternity. The comic was posted in April, National Poetry Month. |
− | + | Coincidentally, the combination of "Death" from the title text and "E-Filing" is similar to the "{{w|Death_and_taxes_(idiom)|Death and Taxes}}" idiom. | |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== |