Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for August 22, 2013

Good service, right?

I have some clocks that need a good cleaning….

I think you should get the hammers, too

Would like to know how “clean one’s clock” means “pulverize someone.”

well, at least he didn’t offer to paint his wagon.

There are certain times that it’s good to drop your beer.

Not as good, but there’s also “I’m gonna rearrange your face!”

Based on a current lame tv series featuring men w/motorcycles, he’ll hug you first, then ask if you’re okay. And then he’ll beat you.

In Cockney rhyming slang, face is boat race.

The origin of Clean ones Clock appears uncertain.

Even better than the Spilled Coffee trope is the Spilled Beer trope! At least Rat is smart enough to run and hide rather than have his clock cleaned by Biker Bob [I’m just guessing based on past Pastis practice that that’s his name].

Must be Windex Day in Comicsland

@ temple SUDPerhaps it is rooted in the fact that front of a clock is called the “face”. I could envision an early use meaning to punch someone in the face, thus knocking off all the numbers.

That was excellent.

when I’m through with you, you won’t remember which hole to crap with!

And tomorrow the bikers will invite Pig to a barbeque!

You know the threat is serious when Rat drops his beer.

One explanation of ‘clean your clock’ is that it comes from railroad jargon. Jamming on the air brakes causes the air pressure gauge [called a clock] to go to zero, thus cleaning the clock.

To begin at the beginning, “clock” has been slang for the human face since the mid-nineteenth century, based on its supposed resemblance to the face of a clock. “Clock” as a verb has also been slang for “to punch in the face or strike violently” since the early 20th century, again based on the clock-face metaphor.Elsewhere in the world of fisticuffs, according to the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, “clean” has been slang for “vanquish” since the early 19th century. The Random House dictionary also lists “fix someone’s clock” as a slang term for “to finish someone,” first attributed to the writer O. Henry in 1908.

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=612439

Just give Biker Bob a free pass to Beer Land. I would love to see how he interacts with the Bozo Lemmings

This biker could even make Norm drop a beer.

Wasn’t that line used in the G version of “Thelma and Louise”? Another movie to re-watch if we ever get a rainy day in California!

Loud pipes save lives. (biker lives)

Harley Davidson: the art of turning gas into noise..;)

Rat must really be afraid if he dropped his beer.

He can rearrange their apartment, like that gang did in the Far Side.

“So much for the gentrification of bikers.”Maybe he meant he’s going to clean their clocks in court…

Now Rat does need his clock cleaned.Finish the beer first, then run.Side story:In Army Basic training 1972 we were cleaning the floor for inspection. We had snuck in several cases of Black Label Beer. I had just popped mine when in walks the Drill Sgt. He gazes at me demanding “What the hell is that in your hand soldier?”I responded “A cold beer Drill Sgt!”He said “Get rid of it now!” I said “Yes, Drill Sgt!” I turned that beer up and drank the whole can in one move, crushed it, and put in the trash. “Drill Sgt, the beer is gone as ordered.”He grinned saying “Now your punishment. You are promoted to Platoon Leader. Get back to work.” The next day fresh with my new stripes he told me “If you had put that full beer in the trash without finishing it I would have kicked your ass all over that floor.”I said “Yes Drill Sgt, I knew that.”Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome. Never retreat. Never give up. Never back down. You are the ultimate weapon, a combat infantry soldier and his rifle. You rule the battle field.He drilled that into our heads every day.Rat you need to have your butt kicked.

Excellent!

xxx

Pig, just tell that nice man that you were speaking for Jef(f) the Cyclist, and tell him where Jef(f) lives.

I love the way your strip has developed. It has become one of my favorites!

Did he also offer to take you to the cleaners if any of your clothes are dirty?

Veteran--GREAT STORY! Please send it to my e-mail, mel1951ceryahoo.com, so I can share it! Thanx!

So the big bad rat took a runner huh.