Pickles by Brian Crane for December 17, 2019

Whoa, Nellie!

That certainly didn’t sit to well.

Throughout most of my life, people with whom I get newly acquainted automatically address me by my name’s diminutive while family (immediate and extended) and some acquaintances address me by my official name. Come on, even my school pictures, my certificates, mail, signatures, work’s name tag, as well as Facebook have my official name!

Nelson could use Nick, except that his best friend is already using Nick, so that’s out.

My grandfather was one of eight boys in his family, and my great-grandparents made a point of giving all of them names that couldn’t be nicknamed: Forrest, Scott, Lacy, Ralph….

Every single one of them, except oldest boy Forrest, still managed to acquire a nickname by the time he left home. They had neglected in Grandpa’s case to apply the same rule to his middle name James, so everybody called him Jim.

Skeezix!

My family nickname was a horror to me. When I turned 13 I asked for ONLY ONE present: Please start calling me by my actual name. My parents made the change pretty well. My sibs saved my nickname for times when they wanted to get my goat. And my older other relatives never quite figured out why I cared… though my grandma accepted, eventually, that I really meant it. I was about 20 at the time…

Nels? Nello? Neck?

I wanted to be called Napoleon after the Man from Uncle. My dad said that was fine but the other kids would call me Nappy for short so I changed my mind. (for our American friends a Nappy in the UK is a Diaper).

We could call you son.

Nellie Fox. Chicago White Sox.

It was good enough for Nellie Fox.

Nelson changed his mind real quickly!

Every one I worked with had nicknames, I had a few myself!

Did Nelson Eddy ever have a nickname?

Very odd, my waking up dream this morning was that my dad (dead 22 years) told me I could rename myself, but it had to be two first names, so I picked Fred Rick. No clue what that was about.

It is never a good idea to talk to Earl.

Well Nelson your name starts with an “N” and ends with an “N” how about …. N-Son …. Now you have rank in the navy ! ;-)

former coach Don Nelson might disagree with you, there, Nelson!

Where is Nelson’s parents, anyway? Never see them.

Sonny

Sonny…

The best nickname for anyone, is, of course, Nick.

Noslen.

Nanny (maternal great-grandmother) was the only one that could call my brothers “Bobby” and “Johnny”. They hated those names, but honored Nanny by never saying anything. We all called them Bob and John.

Willie.

I’ve hated my first name all my life . Tried to use my middle name for a while, but nobody wanted to cooperate with that. Why can’t people choose their own names when they’re old enough?

You could go with the last part of the name and start calling him Sonny. That one works with any male name ending in -son.

so the wrinkles in his shirt continue to the couch?

LOVE that Earl !!! lol

l’il Nel works for me

There’s good precedent for calling a guy “Nellie”: Nellie King was a pitcher, then an announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_King

I don’t know what his last name is but southerners love initials. just call him N?

Bubba, Slim, Whitey, Shorty…

I had a good friend named Leslie. He preferred Bill. I believe he would be unhappy that they put Leslie on his tombstone.

Nellie was my first thought even before I read the next panel. =^________^=

Whoah, Nellie!

What, no middle name? We gave both of our boys “Normal” middle names in case they didn’t like their first names.

My dad’s parents used his middle name all the time he was growing up. When he went into the service in WWII, he was addressed by his given name, and was using it when he met my mom. He went by his given name for the rest of his life, except for his parents and sister’s family. I never did understand why they didn’t just reverse the names on his birth certificate if they wanted to use the second name so badly.

My great uncle Nelson went by Nels.

Be careful what you wish for, (Nellie, Nell, Ensign).

Sonny?

The supervisor of the University of Utah bowling alley in 1969 was called Nellie for that very reason. It suited him.

I gave my daughter a name that had skads of nicknames, but insisted that others call her by her full first name. The idea being that when she got older, she could pick whatever nickname she wanted. She stuck with the full first name. I am glad she did. There are people, of course, who will call you by a nickname even if you don’t want them to. I didn’t think my first name could be shortened into a nickname. In high school, however, I found out it could be shortened. Sigh. I am not fond of it, but over the last 45 years I have gotten used to it.

He can run the mercantile at Walnut Grove

How about Horatio, after the famous Nelson?

Take the first letter of your first and middle name and have that be your nickname.

We have to believe that, in tomorrow’s panel, Grandpa will inspire Nelson with the story of his namesake, the great Chicago White Sox second baseman Nelson “Nellie” Fox. After all, what are we grandpas for if not education and inspiration? OK – maybe some entertainment too.

How about Horatio, Nelson?

Nel?

Bubba

Was Nelson named after someone? If so, he could be a Junior, a Dewey, a Trey, or an Ivy.

My husband is a Trey but he was never called that. The men in his family all inherited two unusual names (first and middle) and a fairly common last name. His dad was a Junior. But my husband got called him Champ – the middle name, shortened. (I just couldn’t. When I met him, he was already using a variation of his first name.)

When our son was born, I called a halt to the family tradition. “The kid is going to have his own name,” I said. We narrowed it to two choices. My preferred name became our son’s first name. My husband’s preferred name became his second. Of course, by the time number one son was in high school, he’d chosen his own nickname.

Portuguese pronunciation of Sergio, Sar-Zjo, nickname Sarzg.

My dad’s name was Nelson and his nickname was Ned.

Nicknames are funny things sometimes. Reminds me of this guy I know named William Richard _________. Everyone calls him Bill-Dick

I like Nels for his school friends and Sonny for his family.