Frazz by Jef Mallett for August 24, 2021

Fable-ous?

It’s also a word that some folks use right after “Babe, you look…”

Is there a fable about a guy painting a basketball court with both a brush and a roller?

Mr. Mallet, you are sneaky. Today’s comic was both educational & entertaining. I had to look up facile to understand the joke.

“Facile” could imply superficial and oversimplistic. I believe Aesop mainly wanted to make the stories clear and easy to understand.

I’m reminded of the Terry Pratchett quote about elves:

“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.

Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.

Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.

Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.

Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.

Elves are terrific. They beget terror.

The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.

No one ever said elves are nice."

The fable-du-jour to suit the problem-du-jour. Doesn’t actually solve the problem but adds a kinda pepto-bismal effect.

Les fables de Lafontaine.

I’m really not sure what’s facile about fables. Facile implies both easy and superficial. They are simple, but they’re supposed to be.

But maybe that’s just sour grapes.

…and “awful” isn’t just another word for bad…

And so trite! And hackneyed! And full of clichés! Why, it’s as if the guy never had an original thot in his life!

If scherzo were here, I’m sure he’d complain about Mallett being arrogant enough to trash longstanding classics.

While others question “facile,” I question “slick.” As slang, it usually means either clever or dishonest, neither of which really works in context. Does Frazz mean that the fables gloss over complications?

One meaning of “fabulous” is mythical, fictional, fatuous etc…