Editing Talk:1932: The True Meaning of Christmas

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Is that guy with a black "santa cap" Black Hat? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.77|162.158.166.77]] 13:38, 22 December 2017 (UTC)
:Since most comics a not in color we safely can assume this Santa Hat as red. And if it should be Black Hat we would be able to identify him. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:01, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

:: based on speech patterns and topic choice, "Santa Hat" might be Beret Guy. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.202|162.158.75.202]] 19:18, 23 December 2017 (UTC)
:::Like my former comment: If it should be Beret Guy we would be able to identify him. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:21, 23 December 2017 (UTC)
:: I think the santa hat may actually be black, because in [[361: Christmas Back Home]] and [[838: Incident]] red christmas clothing was represented as red. Those were probably only times we have seen Christmas clothing in xkcd. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.101|162.158.238.101]] 10:53, 25 December 2017 (UTC)
::For me, Santa Hat is not mean enough to be Black Hat, and not QUITE  goofy enough to be Beret Guy.  I vote Just Some Guy In A Santa Hat, or our regular Cueball wearing a Santa hat, or Cueball's brother although I guess then Cueball would know his feelings about Christmas.  I also don't accept the argument that the meaning of Christmas is "the meaning of Christmas", and I think Autometalogolex should be a Transformer, probably the good Transformers' snooty librarian / archivist.  He or she can be a reindeer when transformed, sure.  Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@excite.com [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.124|141.101.76.124]] 10:43, 26 December 2017 (UTC)
Cant find a definition or recognition of the word autometalogolex. My google-fu is weak.  ̶o̶r̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶a̶d̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶u̶p̶ [[User:DPS2004|DPS2004&#39;); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:DPS2004|talk]]) 14:11, 22 December 2017 (UTC)
:"autometalogolex" is an invention by Santa Hat and consists of three prefixes "auto-", "meta-", and "logo-" and the word "lex" for law or statute. I'm still thinking about the deeper meaning.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:17, 22 December 2017 (UTC)
::Why dont we make it a word? UrbanDictionary is blocked where i am. [[User:DPS2004|DPS2004&#39;); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:DPS2004|talk]]) 14:25, 22 December 2017 (UTC)
:I added the meanings of each of the prefixes, as well as a more likely analysis of the root, though "auto-" is still up in the air. It can mean "self" as in the classic meaning, but it can also mean done without interaction (as in "automatic") which sounds closer to the usage present in the comic. I'll leave it to others to refine. We still need to better interpret the fullness of the title text. Respectfully, -- a guy stuck in a government cube all day. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.184}}
::"auto-" means self. The roots of automatic mean "self-acting" or "self-thinking".  [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 15:26, 22 December 2017 (UTC)
:I'd say that Autometalogolex is the word that Santa Hat is making up for the definition that cueball gives "The act of looking up the definition of this word.", so my interpretation is that the definition of Autometalogolex is "The act of looking up the definition of autometalogolex" (so you are all autometalogolexing at this moment) -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.152|141.101.77.152]] 15:06, 22 December 2017 (UTC)volivav
::So what is the word for the act of making up a word for this definition?  [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.82|172.68.141.82]] 00:41, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

:WDYT about my reference to autological words? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autological_word]  [[User:DarlingGeert|DarlingGeert]]

Doesn't the title text reference Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.166|172.69.69.166]] 17:25, 22 December 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks, I thought about this too. Please check my additions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:20, 22 December 2017 (UTC)

Tautometalogolex should be "the act of looking up the definition of autometalogolex". [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 18:23, 22 December 2017 (UTC)
:This phrase hits the nail on the head. And that's a recursive never ending action. And this recursion happens to all those "meaning of Christmas stories." --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:13, 23 December 2017 (UTC)


The current explanation speaks of the title text like it might mean that a reindeer named "Autometalogolex" might cause headaches. NO! Usually such strange clearly wrong interpretations come from looking at it in a weird way (a way I only discover by reading it here), but this time it's simply not paying attention! Why would anybody be looking to GIVE Santa a headache??!?!? It's literally saying the opposite, who will they call when Santa ALREADY HAS a headache. Yes, the title text is referencing Rudolph, who is depicted as an outsider until he becomes useful, his glowing nose helping guide the way. This is the same. It's making fun of the fact that "autometalogolex" sounds like a medicine, so it's saying that a reindeer with this name would CURE Santa's headache, saving the day like Rudolph, helping out like Rudolph. Everyone will look for Autometalogolex at this time. Don't always make things so complicated.

And I don't think Santa Hat is Black Hat. That's what I figured at first, since hat colour, but he isn't sporting the usual anti-social mess-with-people attitude. But the comments sound like he usually wears a different hat, so... Wihout further evidence I think we have to take him as a separate character. Maybe the blackness is supposed to paint him as a Christmas pessimist? [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:37, 29 December 2017 (UTC)
:I've updated the incomplete reason to ''Title text explanation: Why did Santa need a headache? Sounds absurd.'' IMO the last paragraph is nonsense. "Autometalogolex" is a reference to Rudolph and your phrase ''the fact that "autometalogolex" sounds like a medicine'' is much more reasonable. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:37, 29 December 2017 (UTC)

On Wiktionary, the administrators have proactively protected the title [[:wikt:autometalogolex|autometalogolex]] so that it cannot be created. - [[User:Mike Rosoft|Mike Rosoft]] ([[User talk:Mike Rosoft|talk]]) 17:37, 29 December 2017 (UTC)
* Also, who else tried to parse the word as "auto-metalo-golex"? - [[User:Mike Rosoft|Mike Rosoft]] ([[User talk:Mike Rosoft|talk]]) 17:55, 29 December 2017 (UTC)