5573: Is Cleveland a cutting word or a seasonal reference?
| Is Cleveland a cutting word or a seasonal reference? |
 Made by: King James III |
Explanation[edit | edit source]
In the original, Jon's words were prompted by Liz saying "Guess what?" After Jon's initial guess, she asked, "Excuse me?" After the second batch, Liz turned to Garfield, who merely thought that Jon's not good at guessing. #5351: Words! removed Liz, her speech, and Garfield's thought. This edit puts Liz back, but has her retain the same position through all three panels. She says, "Guess what?" in the first and third panels, as the author realized that their addition would make the exchange fit the traditional syllable structure of a haiku. Meanwhile, Garfield turns to leave in the second panel, and is gone by the third.
The title refers to oft-forgotten -- at least among haiku-writers outside of Japan or in the modern era even in Japan -- aspects of traditional haiku: the kireji, or "cutting word", and the kigo, or "seasonal reference". The suggestion of Cleveland as a cutting word may be a pun on the "split or sever" meaning of "cleave". (If the author wants a seasonal reference, he may find one in "loose-leaf paper", as the American school year began around a month ago when the original strip was published, and was not far off when this edit was published.)
The author writes:[edit | edit source]
After seeing SRoMG, I did a little calculation, and figured out that I could harken back to the haiku format of the very first SRoMG with this comic.
Original strip: 2023-09-29.
Transcript[edit | edit source]
{Liz [in bold] and Jon share a haiku between themselves. Garfield, getting bored, shuffles away}
Guess what? Twenty-three!
Loose-leaf paper! Green! Cleveland!
Guess what? Elephant!
