https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Robbie0630explain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-04-18T21:28:11ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1932:_The_True_Meaning_of_Christmas&diff=1497251932: The True Meaning of Christmas2017-12-24T01:42:33Z<p>Robbie0630: use-mention distinction</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1932<br />
| date = December 22, 2017<br />
| title = The True Meaning of Christmas<br />
| image = the_true_meaning_of_christmas.png<br />
| titletext = They all made fun of Autometalogolex, but someday there will be a problem with Christmas that can only be solved if Santa somehow gets a serious headache, and then they'll see.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a REINDEER. Anything missing?. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is making fun of the common trope in popular media that the {{tvtropes|TrueMeaningOfChristmas|true meaning of Christmas}} is about family, friends, and sharing the Christmas Spirit. It subverts the trope by suggesting that once the stories of the "True Meaning of Christmas" become sufficiently common, the real true meaning becomes to spread those stories. Thus the search for the "True Meaning of Christmas" is itself the meaning of Christmas, in a sort of "the journey is the reward" discovery.<br />
<br />
In the last panel and title text, "Autometalogolex" can be broken down to its various prefixes and the root:<br />
:"Auto-" - Greek meaning "self."<br />
:"Meta-" - Greek meaning "after," "beyond," or "in reference to."<br />
:"Logo-" - Greek meaning "word" or "speech."<br />
:"Lex" - "lexis" is another Greek word meaning "word"; but in this case it is more likely to be a shortening of "lexicon" (another word for dictionary), or perhaps a reference to the process of "lexing" (lexical analysis), part of the process of computer analysis of text.<br />
Thus, "Autometalogolex" literally means "A word that refers to itself in the dictionary." Or more precise it is "the act of looking up the definition of autometalogolex" which leads to a recursion as all ''meaning of Christmas'' stories do as well.<br />
<br />
The term Autometalogolex might also refer to autological words, words that refer to a property of the word itself. ("noun" is a noun, "pentasyllabic" is pentasyllabic [has 5 syllables]). "Autometalogolex" is a a 'meta' version of the looking up (lex) of an autological word.<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] finally states that Autometalogolex is his least favorite {{w|Santa Claus's reindeer}} in addition to the common eight names ''Dasher'', ''Dancer'', ''Prancer'', ''Vixen'', ''Comet'', ''Cupid'', ''Donner'', and ''Blitzen''.<br />
<br />
As the title text reveals this ninth reindeer could be a reference to {{w|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer}} which was not accepted by the others until Santa had problems and asked it to lead the other reindeer pulling the sleigh.<br />
<br />
The title text may also imply the only effective outcome of Autometalogolex (or the newly defined Christmas) is giving headaches as with many self-referential concepts. As headaches generally are bad, Autometalogolex is not accepted, but - as in a typical Christmas story, here driven into the absurd realm - Santa needed a headache, and Autometalogolex was there to save the day.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and a person wearing a Santa hat are standing together.]<br />
:Cueball: You're looking festive.<br />
:Santa Hat: I love Christmas!<br />
:Cueball: Really? Doesn't seem like your kind of thing.<br />
:Santa Hat: It's our most meta holiday!<br />
<br />
:Cueball: How so?<br />
:Santa Hat: All our Christmas stories now are about discovering the "true meaning of Christmas."<br />
<br />
:Cueball: Huh, yeah. And then sharing it with others.<br />
:[Santa Hat shrugs.]<br />
:Santa Hat: At some point, that quest itself '''''became''''' the true meaning.<br />
<br />
:Cueball: Like a word who's definition is "the act of looking up the definition of this word."<br />
:[Santa Hat thinks.]<br />
:Santa Hat: "Autometalogolex"?<br />
:Cueball: My least favorite of Santa's reindeer.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*At the time this comic was released the expression ''Autometalogolex'' did not exist. But only a few hours later at {{w|Urban Dictionary}} this phrase got its first entries: [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Autometalogolex Urbandictionary Autometalogolex].<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Christmas]]<br />
[[Category:Characters with Hats]]</div>Robbie0630