Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for October 17, 2021

I saw the pun coming by the second panel. And so did my friend Shelby, who lives on the far side of a mountain.

I’m rowing out of here.

That…was…awful.

I’m reminded of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy’s attempt to sing that song in Star Trek V.

Pastis, no one is going to

Roll, Roll, Roll about …

drops a Supertanker on Pastis’ head F.Y.I., members of my Dad’s side of the family, were in the military.. Navy included.

if an original member of The Harptones are still alive, they need to sue this guy.

And people actually PAY him to do this. You do gotta wonder…

Stephan did this one take all day to dream up ;-)

Someone push Pastis gently down and scream.

If you choose to come here to read these cartoons, then you have only yourself to blame.

It’s been a while since the last Sunday pun.

I like it.

As the belt said to the suspenders, that was a real stretch!

Not being a native English I spen 40 minutes to understand and the only thing I can say is OH MY GOD . I appreciate Stephan effort to create these puns.

Hey, Rat, where’s your bat?

That was too much work.

One of my aunts gave her three daughters the first name Maria, we called them all by their middle name.

What do the Harptones (Life is But a Dream 1955) think of that?

Is this some American cultural reference?

Who knew rats had such varied hair styles?

Warning! Overly elaborate pun alert!

Reminds me of the Dr. Seuss story (in The Sneetches and Other Stories) called Too Many Daves which begins: “Did I ever tell you that Mrs. McCave … Had twenty-three sons and she named them all Dave?”

I knew a pun was coming by the first panel. We rarely see any of Rat’s family members

Cuts bunch of sisters.

Reading “pearls” may be a warning sign of early onsite masochism

Luckily Stephan didn’t need protective headgear in the last panel. I guess Rat lost his bat.

lye-fizz buddha dream would be a great name for an acid jazz trio…

He’s probably got hundreds of siblings with the same names.

Pastis’ puns — So terrible, but I can’t look away. I must have a really severe karma debt from a previous life and am being punished. So keep them coming. Maybe the debt will be squared before I pass on to the next life.

Gee I thought the pun was heading for something like:

“Put the lye in the water, you drink ‘em both together."

“Put the lye in the water, then you’ll feel better.”

Mary Lee we roll along.

Buddha would have liked meeting Rat’s sisters. Everybody doesn’t like something, but no Buddha doesn’t like Mary Lees.

Come on… admit it…you secretly LOVE these pun strips…

I figured this one out before the end. I was sorry I did.

I still haven’t figured it out.

Three of them have pretty much the same hairdo. That other one is the rebel. Marry her, Pig.

Lol! The hair dos are a stitch! Now back to that lye …..

Being a professional punster would seem to be hazardous to proper mental health

Each day should have a touch of surrealism. Thanks, Steph.

Got to the third frame before I realized a pun was coming and got out.

You know what’s coming from the first panel. The smart thing to do would be to just move on. And yet, you can’t. You have to see it through to the bloody end

I don’t think I know the song…what’s the title?

Pastis? Hat. WHAP!

Awesome pun!

Rat is not merry after hearing that pun.

LOL, that was sooo painful, hee hee.

When I started reading today’s strip, as a faithful reader, I sensed what was coming and continued reading with one eye closed in hopes of deflecting the full “power” of the joke. It didn’t work but I couldn’t turn away. To remain living this long, while writing jokes like these, Pastis must have a flock of guardian angels watching over him. I salute his commitment to…whatever pushes him.

To quote that great philosopher, Homer Simpson, “Doh!”

Is this a continuation of the “Roe, roe, roe your boot” pun from a year and a half ago?

Grrroooaaannnnnnn! :o{

Outstanding!!

He really is quite imaginative to get these words and scenarios to work. I love this comic strip.

This one is a draw for me.

Genius!

What did the sailor sing as he was cutting the grass that was growing on the deck of his ship?

“Mow, mow, mow your boat…”

That one’s a bit of a stretch, even for Pastis. Not for the first time, I agree with Rat.

Went bewilderingly over my head. Must have been before or after my stint as a DJ.

Are they all as obnoxious as their brother?…..

Pastis needs to come up with something better to do while taking a shower rather than coming up with these horrible punchlines.

This is brilliant. This man is a genius and one day his work will be talked about by literary scholars.

LOL – I’m getting to the point where I can predict your endings before the actual reveals. Love the puns!

Anyone reminded of the movie “Bean”, where their version was, “Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. If you see a crocodile, don’t forget to scream”?

didn’t see that coming!

They remind me of Marge Simpson and her sisters.

You read these things, you know something bad is coming and then that final panel smacks you square in the face like a porta potty on a hot day.

Made me laugh

Where does he come up with these?

So . . . what’s the song?!? My pa’s been to HUNDREDS of rock concerts but can’t discern it!!!

The minute Pig asked for their names, my internal pun alert started sounding off…

It must be hard coming up with these puns. Oh wait. think of a rhyme first, then figure out how to get there. Not so hard. Still wouldn’t want the job. Maybe Pastis has interns to do that.

I had to say it out loud, twice.

A loooooooong walk to that joke

Turible, just turible. Keep them coming!

Lye water?!? “C’mon girls drink your grape koolaid”. After horse dewormer, kerosene, bleach, etc, that DO NOT CURE COVID, even jokingly suggesting lye water ispoorly thought out! Remember, we print instructions for use on toothpick packges!

Okay, I don’t get it! What song is this supposed to be anyway? I’ve read it 5 times already and I still don’t get it! Help!

Mary Lee must live in the big hair eighties. Nothin merry about that.

Remember when Steph did the first part of the rhyme? “Roe. Roe. Roe. Your boot. Gent Lee. Down. The Scream.”

What is this supposed to be?

This one gave me a stomach ache.

row your boat?

I, too, saw the pun coming by panel 2, though I wasn’t sure exactly how Pastis would go there. Clever, if [face-palm] inducing, as is often the case.

Got it before it was revealed!

If rat’s sisters have hair, why doesn’t rat?

When you see the set up for a pun so you just skip to the end

I rise my hand as not getting it. I had to read it aloud to my wife before I got it.

Pastis, you are a horrible person.

ONE OF THESE DAYS PASTIS… POW! RIGHT TO THE MOON!

Baseball bat, STAT!

In reality, I must grudgingly admit that was a Good One, Cartoon-Boy! Made me laugh….

OMG….best Pastis EVER……..couldn’t figure out where he was going till the very last

Lye doesn’t fizz when you put it in water; maybe in soda pop (which is weakly acidic)…

you put the lime in the coconut and drink them both up.

I got it as soon as I read 4 Mary Lees. I’ve been reading this comic a long time. Buddha is pretty good for But A.