206: Reno Rhymes

2020-03-26T17:20:27Z

173.245.54.149: assuming that "I don't mean to pry" (a fairly common saying) is a "Princess Bride" reference seems a bit of a leap

{{comic
| number = 206
| date = January 5, 2007
| title = Reno Rhymes
| image = reno rhymes.png
| titletext = Did you shoot a man in Reno? Now, I don't mean to pry.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic starts with a line from the song {{w|Folsom Prison Blues|"Folsom Prison Blues"}} by Johnny Cash. Cash is noted as saying "I sat with my pen in my hand, trying to think up the worst reason a person could have for killing another person, and that's what came to mind," which fits pretty well with the personality of [[Black Hat]]. Rather than react badly, [[Cueball]] starts a rhyming game, which they continue until Black Hat refers to the horrifying {{w|My Lai Massacre}}, which is apparently going too far for Cueball.

;You know, I once shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
:Black Hat starts with the original line from the song.

;Really? Well I once shot a man in Reno but I couldn't tell you why.
:Cueball then begins the rhyming game, by saying he can't tell the reason he killed the man.

;I once shot a man in Reno then I went home to cry.
:Black Hat continues, by saying he got emotional after killing the man... Unlikely, given he's ''Black Hat'', and could be him trying to continue, or he could be sarcastic.

;I once shot a man in Reno then I watered his cacti.
:An unlikely action after you have just killed someone... Just Cueball trying to continue the rhyme.

;I once shot a man in Reno 'cause they cancelled Firefly.
:{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}} was a TV series that aired on Fox during 2002. Its cancellation was a source of much annoyance to its fans, a fact frequently referenced in xkcd. In this case Black Hat goes as far to murder an innocent man for this.

;I once shot a man in Reno, him and all his succubi.
:Cueball says he shot a man and a bunch of female demons. Unlikely to happen in real life, and is just probably Cueball attempting to continue.

;I once shot a man in Reno and a bunch more in My Lai.
:The My Lai Massacre was an atrocity committed by US soldiers in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. Here Black Hat says he not only shot a man in Reno, '''he shot a bunch more in My Lai''', meaning that he was actually part of the massacre. Cueball is obviously horrified by this, and ends the rhyme with a "I think we're done", signifying his horror at Black Hat's words.

The title text continues the rhyme, but changes the roles: now the speaker is asking someone else if they shot a man in Reno. It may be a reference to The Princess Bride (Inigo says the "I don't mean to pry" part to Westley).

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Black Hat stand facing one another. Black Hat is on the left.]
:Black Hat: You know, I once shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
:Cueball: Really? Well, I once shot a man in Reno, but I couldn't tell you why.

:Black Hat: I once shot a man in Reno, then I went home to cry.
:Cueball: I once shot a man in Reno, then I watered his cacti.

:Black Hat: I once shot a man in Reno 'cause they cancelled Firefly.
:Cueball: I once shot a man in Reno, him and all his succubi.

:Black Hat: I once shot a man in Reno and a bunch more in My Lai.
:Cueball: I think we're done.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Firefly]]
[[Category:Music]]

Talk:1566: Board Game

2015-08-19T15:44:22Z

173.245.54.149:

Someone needs to make an actual board game based on this comic. Any aspiring or wanna be board game makes out there? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.149|173.245.54.149]] 15:44, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

I think Cueball has mastered [[wikipedia:gamification|gamification]] and [[wikipedia:crowdsourcing|crowdsourcing]]. --[[User:Koveras|Koveras]] ([[User talk:Koveras|talk]]) 12:45, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

Unfortunately the rules change every year and explaining the rules would probably take close to a year. The Feds really should supply free tax prep software to the masses. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.100|108.162.216.100]] 13:45, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

206: Reno Rhymes

Talk:1566: Board Game