Transcript:
Goat: Hey, Rat, I couldn't help but notice you're not eating your soup the right way... When you dip the spoon, you're supposed to move it away from you, not toward you. Rat: Like that? Goat: Not quite. Rat: Should I try again, miss manners?
killacowinWA over 12 years ago
Fine-tuned table etiquette. As if our culture didn’t already have enough ways to waste time. Don’t spill, yes. Don’t vomit on the tablecloth, yes. Don’t put steak knives in your mouth, yes. But why does anyone need rules about how to hold silverware? And why would anybody ever in history need two forks or two knives or two spoons for a meal? It just seems irrational! There’s my mini-rant.
jmcx4 over 12 years ago
I always just used the little salad fork for everything. Man may gouge out a tonsil with that dang long fork.
mollie05 over 12 years ago
By the time you get it to your mouth there’s nothing on the spoon…such a long trip to get there.
Gking over 12 years ago
Next lesson: From which side of the glass do you drink?
Stan King over 12 years ago
Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
Zebrails over 12 years ago
from the previous strip about the mole flambe…
Did anyone else notice that Rat’s beer has a good head on it?
Varnes over 12 years ago
the comments are off to a good start, but I’m afraid I have to side with Prof danglais on this one….sometimes rituals have a real world purpose behind them….not to say there aren’t things that are just plain stupid…
Sherlock Watson over 12 years ago
Usually I favor Goat over Rat, but this time is an exception. POKE HIM AGAIN, RAT!
PhillyFan52 over 12 years ago
Sorry, Goat, but this time you deserved it.
el8 over 12 years ago
I drink my soup from a cup
naturally_easy over 12 years ago
What’s next? No farting at the table?
Proginoskes over 12 years ago
@ Stan King: Most people get that quote wrong. It’s actually “A FOOLISH consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds”. And don’t even get me stared on “Ignorance is bliss” …
WCLamb over 12 years ago
@Proginoskes -If ignorance is bliss, then the USA must be one happy country!
knight1192a over 12 years ago
I’m totally with Rat on this one. And I notice that the vast majority of folks I’ve observed eating soup, even those with extremely good manners, eat their soup the way Rat does. Now if Rat were slurping the soup from the spoon I’d be one to complain, but to push your spoon away from you when your eating is up tight pretentiousness.
The Old Wolf over 12 years ago
“As little ships push out to sea,I push my spoon away from me.”-My grandmother</>
PICTO over 12 years ago
Stick a fork in me, I think I’m done.
Howling Rabbit over 12 years ago
Actually, the original phrase is “A foolish inconsistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”.
gadget_jb over 12 years ago
Thanks! That makes sense. Although with my spare tire, it usually hits mid-shirt front instead of lap.. ;-)
the burser over 12 years ago
Mistress manners quite con-bannaners
eddie6192 over 12 years ago
Depending on the angle of the dangle.
rshive over 12 years ago
The spork is one of man’s greatest inventions. Sharpen the edges and you can even use it to cut food.
The Boston Banana over 12 years ago
ooh,he spilled his coffee
tigre1 over 12 years ago
The fondly remembered first wife tried to civilize and train me that way. Tried.
Mzmagoocp over 12 years ago
you can always do what my husband does (behind my back) is to drink your soup from the soup bowl!
middlenamewayne over 12 years ago
Disgusting. Simply disgusting.
(NOTE TO SELF: Remember to clip and save for files — classic example of “injury to the eye motif”).
- Dr. F. WerthamsteverinoCT over 12 years ago
1. I haven’t spilled soup in my lap for years. Seems it is always intercepted by my belly.
2. In “God Knows,” King David points out to Schlomo that you always drink with your nose inside the rim of the cup. Why? So you don’t pour the drink down your front!
Gokie5 over 12 years ago
I have a bad habit of reading while eating, unless it’s a special occasion like a birthday. Sometimes I’ll hold the bowl under my face with my left hand, so that the soup won’t spill all over everything. Luckily, my husband also likes to read while eating, so we’ll read in peace at a restaurant. He likes to work puzzles also, but I can’t manage to logistics of that.
Defective Premium Member over 12 years ago
Ya know, I always thought it was rat that was the problem. Well, he is, but that’s besides the point. Here, Goat is clearly the idiot. He knows, from REPEATED attempts to communicate with Rat that he will wind up the worse for it. So that makes him either a masochist or an idiot.
rchlgillette over 12 years ago
I think Rat needs some anger management classes…haha
John Glynn creator over 12 years ago
Better than a sharp stick in the eye
dallasfan1 over 12 years ago
SPASM ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!
tcity over 12 years ago
You don’t eat soup with your hands? Wow, I’ve been doing it wrong.
dallasfan1 over 12 years ago
If he went to manners class in college he would fail…
water_moon over 12 years ago
The soup I make doesn’t spill, mostly becuase it’s full of semi-melted cheese
dallasfan1 over 12 years ago
This isn’t exactly a comment, but is there only one comic for pearls before swine? How do you get to the other ones?
Sisyphos over 12 years ago
I’ll take my stand with Goat, the victim of a vicious physical assault, being poked in the eye with a soupspoon by the despicable Rat. And all because he tried to suggest good manners!
Bill Chapman over 12 years ago
phuhknees over 12 years ago
Somebody tell Rat he jabbed with the wrong end of the spoon.The handle end is pointier.
DGWillie over 12 years ago
I presume that none of those opposed to proper etiquette at table would open a door for a hot young lady, let alone an old lady with arms full of packages. Most rules of manners are to make life a tiny bit more civil. You don’t need to understand ’em to obey them.
Fan o’ Lio. over 12 years ago
How do you eat soup with chopsticks?
ibholyroller over 12 years ago
I like my soup in a cup also. Why waste precious time?
Nicole ♫ ⊱✿ ◕‿◕✿⊰♫ Premium Member over 12 years ago
I’ve been eating my soup wrong this whole time? :O
Casey Southards over 12 years ago
Why would you want to go and antagonise the rat for? It can not get you anything but trouble.
Mostly Water Premium Member over 12 years ago
Obviously the most efficient method for the ingestion of soup is to toss the spoon away and suck the contents directly out of the bowl. I learned that in the dorms.
Timothy Higgins Premium Member over 12 years ago
anger management? what anger management?
Popeyesforearm over 12 years ago
my mom threw a pickle fork into the ‘Ol Man’s forehead playing Hearts back in the 60’s. Nice friendly game with the neighbors.
IQTech61 over 12 years ago
For people who care about which way you move your spoon to eat your soup – there’s medication for that.
Tue Elung-Jensen over 12 years ago
Hate to agree with Rat – but in this case Goat is a jerk.
codedaddy over 12 years ago
This question applies only when you are at the point of tipping the bowl to gather the remaining broth. Tip bowl with left; gather broth with right, moving spoon away from your lap. Or as someone noted, abandon the spoon at this point in favor of taking what remains directly from the bowl, as Asians do.
imbaldeagle over 12 years ago
And don’t forget “Music has charms to soothe the savage breast” (not beast)
lakita_lover over 12 years ago
I normally like Goat, but in this case I’d smack him with a spoon too.
cwilbourn over 12 years ago
This is similar to an ordeal I fight with my folks at home. When I’m eating something that requires a knife and a fork (e.g. steak), I usually use the fork in my left hand to keep it stable and use the knife in my right hand to cut the food. But instead of switching the fork over into my right hand, I simply just eat the food with my left hand. They always bug me for this, but I still refuse to follow the rules. Why waste time switching hands? My method makes it faster and easier to eat!
leopardglily almost 2 years ago
Yeah, Goat deserved it that time.