Main Page
Welcome to the explain xkcd wiki!
We have an explanation for all 3309 xkcd comics, the 21 extra comics, and everything xkcd-related.Only 51 explanations (1.5%) are incomplete. Help us finish them!
Thank you for your tireless documentation effort :)
Latest comic
| Dogcatcher |
 Title text: People out here catching strays out here catching strays |
Explanation
This comic was posted during the last month of the 2026 'Midterm' elections, in the US, and seems to depict a political strategy meeting discussing a group's media strategy aimed against the reputation of someone that is a rival, or otherwise an undesirable, for the group's own purposes.
The phrase “couldn't be elected dogcatcher” refers to an incredibly unpopular person, and dates from the late 19th century. Ponytail, perhaps a journalist, says that the news they've uncovered about someone would make them that unpopular. A dogcatcher's job—that is, an animal control officer's job—includes trapping and impounding stray dogs. But Cueball believes that the use of the metaphor is offensive to animal control officers, even though the topic is not about animal control. In the USA, many city officials are elected, not appointed, and even though dog catchers are not elected, the notion continues that dogcatcher is the city office with the lowest prestige. In recent times, the only elected dog catcher was Zeb Towne, who was elected dog catcher in Duxbury, Vermont between about 2003 and 2018.
“Catching strays”, a metaphor inspired by the act of being hit by stray bullets, refers to someone receiving insults or criticism when they weren’t the subject of the conversation. Megan then makes a pun—the main point of the comic—on “catching strays” as in rounding up stray dogs and “catching strays” as in getting unfairly insulted.
The title text seems like an accidental repetition at first glance, but is actually using the same phrase both literally and metaphorically. It could be paraphrased as either “People out here, trapping feral animals, are being randomly insulted” or “People out here, being randomly insulted, are trapping feral animals”. The insults against them being either because of or despite the practical work done to capture animals, depending upon emphasis and perhaps the wider context.
Transcript
- [Ponytail, Cueball and Megan are seated at a table.]
- Ponytail: Once we break this story, he won't be able to get elected dogcatcher.
- Cueball: Why do we always use "dogcatcher" as the example of a worthless office? Animal control officers are valued professionals.
- Cueball: It just seems unnecessarily insulting.
- Megan: Well, their job is catching strays.
This Week's Explanation for Improvement
As part of the Explanation Improvement Project, each week the community selects one older, stagnant, or otherwise neglected explanation to expand and polish together. This week's pick is comic 430: Every Damn Morning, you can help us by editing its explanation!
To get involved with the project, you can also nominate an explanation that you think should be improved, or vote on current nominations!
| Every Damn Morning |
 Title text: There was something about a cup and a sword and a tree and a green hill... |
Explanation
|
Welcome to This Week's Explanation for Improvement! Anyone is encouraged to help explain comic 430: Every Damn Morning; click here to get started! If you are new to wiki editing, you can read our editing FAQ for guidance. Here are some suggestions for improving this explanation: .svg){kind=icon} Explain the various occurrences in the dream! Could they be references to other comics?
.svg){kind=icon} Why do humans forget their dreams so quickly?
.svg){kind=icon} Improve the #Transcript, it's not descriptive enough.
|
Cueball has had a wondrous and striking dream (seemingly involving various action-packed escapades with Megan and/or on board a zeppelin), but is unable to recount it to Megan, as he has forgotten it.
The title of the strip suggest that this is a regular occurrence: he wakes up with vivid memories of elaborate and fascinating dreamscapes, but is unable to tell anyone about it, because the memories fade so quickly, he's lost almost everything before he gets the chance. The title text is a reference to C.S. Lewis's novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in which Lucy Pevensie reads a story that “refreshes her spirit” – “That is the loveliest story I’ve ever read or ever shall read in my whole life. Oh, I wish I could have gone on reading it for ten years.” – but afterwards can only remember that it had something to do with "a cup and a sword and a tree and a green hill."
The various things in the dream have references to other comics, such as the zeppelin, which is a reccuring theme in xkcd.
An effort to remember dreams was made in 269: TCMP.
Transcript
- [In the background, a vivid dream scene is apparent, including mountains, a city with a mushroom cloud, a zeppelin where one person has knocked another off, another person climbing on or off the blimp on a rope, another blimp anchoring to a city in the background, one Cueball and Megan holding hands, one Cueball looking at the person on the rope, one Cueball and Megan sword fighting over a cup of spilled liquid, another set looking at a laptop, another set hugging, another set sliding down a separate rope from the blimp and a last set falling. In the far right there is a third blimp flying over a mountain range. All in all, this seems very much like an apocalypse and not something one would forget easily. In the inset, Cueball awakens, very surprised.]
- Cueball: !!!
- [Dream's edges are fading, mountains, city, and zeppelin less clear. In the inset, Cueball is seen running down stairs.]
- [Zeppelin, city, and mountains are very hazy and unclear. The people can still be seen. In the inset, Cueball gets the attention of Megan, who is sitting at a breakfast table.]
- [The dream has completely faded, only the outlines of three people can still be seen. In the inset, Cueball looks confused.]
View comic discussionNew here?
You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at explain xkcd. Feel free to create an account and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for xkcd comics, characters, what if? articles, and everything in between. If it is referenced in an xkcd comic, it should be here.
- See our editing FAQ for specific guidance to this wiki, and the more general help on how to edit wiki pages. There's also a handy wikicode cheatsheet.
- Discussion about the wiki itself happens at the Community portal.
- You can browse the comics from the list of all comics or by navigating the category tree at Category:Comics.
- The incomplete explanations are listed here. Feel free to help out by expanding them!
Rules
Don't be a jerk!
There are a lot of comics that don't have set-in-stone explanations; feel free to put multiple interpretations in the wiki page for each comic.
If you want to talk about a specific comic, use its discussion page.
Please only submit material directly related to xkcd and, of course, only submit material that can legally be posted and freely edited. Off-topic or other inappropriate content is subject to removal or modification at admin discretion, and users who repeatedly post such content will be blocked.
If you need assistance from an administrator, post a message to the Admin requests community portal.
