Comments on: Tapas

By: [Fran]cisco

[Fran]cisco — Mon, 17 May 2010 01:28:23 +0000

One day I mentioned, over lunch at work, that my wife and I had been to tapas bar the preceding Saturday evening. One member of the group was clearly startled and blurted out “Why would you do that?” It took us a moment to figure out what he thought he had heard.

Of course, as I’m sure some on this site would know, there are good answers to his question; I’m sure they would cause said colleague to blush! But such answers would be mentioned in a thread about a different comic strip episode. Though quite possibly a thread here and about an A&J strip.

By: mitch4

mitch4 — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:36:40 +0000

A different misunderstanding of “topless” is in a panel cartoon called “Natural Selection”, yesterday’s edition:
http://comics.com/natural_selection/2010-05-13/

By: furrykef

furrykef — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:58:33 +0000

furrykef, the reason people can be unsure of how you pronounce “tapas” is because you described it in terms of other words whose pronunciation varies regionally, instead of using IPA like David B.

And if I used IPA, I bet’cha most people here still wouldn’t know how I pronounce it, because most people don’t know IPA.

(Well, maybe they do in Europe and whatnot, but certainly not here in the U.S…)

By: Rainey

Rainey — Wed, 12 May 2010 06:19:14 +0000

Don, I had a similar experience ( in reverse ) when I told one of my coworkers that I sold some of my movies and tapes to a pawn shop. This shocked her for I have never even been suspected of being interested in porn.

By: buzz

buzz — Wed, 12 May 2010 03:54:12 +0000

@Marie — re Muncie, IN: Unless I’m misremebering, Muncie is where Jim Davis’ art slaves crank out GARFIELD strips & merchandise. Animation writer Mark Evanier once flew out to Muncie to consult with Davis on the GARFIELD cartoon series & while was surprised to hear people mention there was a deli in town. So he went, wondering how it would stack up to those he frequented in NYC & LA. Turned out to be a garden variety small town coffee shop w/a selection of “deli” meats straight from the “deli” bin at the supermarket.

By: Don

Don — Wed, 12 May 2010 03:40:05 +0000

Just the other day my Mother was singing us an old song that went “There’s a pawn shop on the corner in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania”. My daughter and I were both shocked until we realized that she didn’t say “porn shop”.

By: djembe1

djembe1 — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:24:06 +0000

I forwarded this comic to my better half immediately upon reading it because it is a running joke between us. In the Chicago area, the two words are usually pronounced quite similarly, and we were introduced to our first, and still favorite tapas bar by our son. Plus, it is located a half-block from the Bible school that he and our daughter-in-law attended. What more can you ask for one of those inside jokes that families often share?

By: Morris Keesan

Morris Keesan — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:43:41 +0000

Tim, I was starting to write a description of tapas, stopped to look, and Wikipedia says it better than I would:

Tapas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtapas]) is the name of a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or warm (such as chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squid). In North America and the United Kingdom, as well as in select bars in Spain, tapas has evolved into an entire, and sometimes sophisticated, cuisine. In these countries, patrons of tapas restaurants can order many different tapas and combine them to make a full meal.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:34:12 +0000

For the record, what is a “tapas bar”?
“Topless” I understand. I remember the episode of the Beverly Hillbillies where they opened a topless restaurant; even Granny took off her hat when she was working the counter.

By: T Grum

T Grum — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:08:41 +0000

I made that same mistake several years ago. I was visiting a friend and he kept going on about this great bar he had been to and we had to visit while I was there. I was surprised when as we we were leaving, his wife came along. I thought to myself, “well, they are a progressive couple.” It wasn’t until we were at the place when I learned what tapas were.

As for eating at a “topless” establishment, I’ve been to one in the San Diego area which gave out free cheeseburgers and chips during lunch time. Come to think of it, that was a fully nude place. Really an odd thing to do, eat a cheeseburger while a naked stripper gyrates five feet away from you.