3237: Husband and Wife
| Husband and Wife |
 Title text: Borat came out twenty years ago this year--closer to the breakup of the Soviet Union than to today--but it honestly feels like it's been even longer, somehow. |
Explanation[edit]
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Megan and Cueball are discussing the phrases that married couples use to refer to each other, traditionally "my husband" and "my wife". Megan thinks it sounds too traditional to refer to a spouse as a possession.
Cueball, on the other hand, isn't bothered as much by this implication than by the association with 2006 film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Borat had a distinct, cringy way of saying "my wife", which Cueball can't get out of his head when he uses the phrase.
Megan's concern may be a little overblown. "My" isn't only used to denote possession, it's also often used to refer to a close association. For instance, a student or employee may refer to "my school" or "my company", and people often say "my town" to refer to the place where they live.
On the other hand, Cueball has a serious problem -- it's hard to forget that earworm. The title text points out that the 20 years since the movie came out and publication of this comic is longer than the 15 years from the breakup of the Soviet Union and the movie (Kazakhstan was a former member of the USSR).
Transcript[edit]
Megan: I still feel a little weird saying the phrase “my husband”.
Megan: It makes me feel so traditional, like a Victorian gossip.
Cueball: Yeah, well, my plight isn’t much better.
Megan: What do you mean?
Cueball: What’s the most salient cultural reference for the phrase “my wife”?
Megan: Ughhhh, true.
Cueball: Even now, after two decades, when I speak of you I hear his voice, echoing through the halls of memory like a cringy ghost.
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As a UKian, the most obvious reference here is Papa Lazarou in The League of Gentlemen. I assume that's not what Randall has in mind though (is LoG even a thing in the US?), and I have no idea what he might be thinking of. 82.13.184.33 15:37, 24 April 2026 (UTC)
- It's in the title text: the movie "Borat". The title character's way of saying "my wife" became an earworm. Google it. Barmar (talk) 15:43, 24 April 2026 (UTC)
- Ah - OK - don't think the title text was appearing when I was initially looking at it. Found it now. Doesn't mean anything to me. Papa Lazarou is still more salient, and much worse. 82.13.184.33 15:46, 24 April 2026 (UTC)
- I immediately thought of Kimura-sensei from Azumanga Daioh. 70.40.121.82 16:03, 24 April 2026 (UTC)
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