”Covered” I Don’t Understand

Cidu Bill on Sep 4th 2010

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Just for the record, I know I was sent some Ewww’s I could have used this morning, but I’m way behind in sorting through my e-mail. There are some CIDUs and synchronicities waiting around for my attention as well. I hope to get caught up over the next few days.

Filed in Arlo and Janis, Bill Bickel, CIDU, Jimmy Johnson, comic strips, comics, humor | 36 responses so far

36 Responses to “”Covered” I Don’t Understand”

  1. RyanE Sep 4th 2010 at 12:30 am 1

    Usually, saying “we’re covered” I take to mean that they’re taken care of, they won’t be needing anything, but it could be some new-fangled lingo I don’t know of.

  2. Kit Sep 4th 2010 at 12:47 am 2

    Earl?

  3. Skaloop Sep 4th 2010 at 01:00 am 3

    I see a couple possibilities:

    1) “Covered up at the dock” means he is spending the next three days with someone on a boat, that someone being a woman. This bothers Janis because her son’s out gallivanting with some woman, at the expense of Janis.

    2) “Covered up at the dock” means he is going to be extremely busy at work, and will not be able to communicate for a few days. This bothers Janis because Labor Day weekend has some importance with her due to the “last weekend before school” nature of the holiday and she will miss him.

    I don’t know the strip well enough to know if Gene has a job at the docks, but I would guess that is the the more likely intention. But it works well enough for the first one, too.

  4. Kamino Neko Sep 4th 2010 at 01:22 am 4

    Gene is working at a restaurant owned by his future father-in-law, and living on a boat, also owned by his future father-in-law. If Gene were galavanting about with some woman, Janis (who likes Gene’s girlfriend, and her daughter) would have reason to be upset.

  5. Folly Sep 4th 2010 at 02:04 am 5

    It’s somewhat rare. But I’ve heard people say ‘covered up’ before in reference to being super busy at work. Don’t know where it originates from.

  6. Sila Sep 4th 2010 at 02:46 am 6

    Covered over: Southern for really super busy.

    Gene is extra busy at work and can’t come home for the Labor Day holiday. He won’t even have time to talk on the phone, read his email, texts and tweets, or update his Facebook status. Janice is disappointed because it’s going to make the weekend seem to drag by. Arlo, on the other hand, is excited because he has a long weekend to look forward to.

  7. FeelinOld Sep 4th 2010 at 02:59 am 7

    I guess ‘Covered Up’ is along the same lines as ‘Up to our necks’, ‘Buried’, ‘Swamped’ or ‘Snowed Under’, at least that’s how I read it.

    My question is just what Arlo meant by his comment, I’m assuming he thinks it’s going to be a long weekend listening to Janis gripe about not being in contact with Gene. On the other hand it he could just be being sarcastic as this actually is a long weekend…

  8. captainswift Sep 4th 2010 at 03:07 am 8

    “Covered up” is Southern? Because, I’ve lived in North Carolina since I was born, some four decades ago, and I’ve never heard it.

  9. Kamino Neko Sep 4th 2010 at 03:51 am 9

    Arlo only hears ‘long weekend’, which means grilling. Which pleases Arlo.

  10. mitch4 Sep 4th 2010 at 04:25 am 10

    Thanks to those explaining the phrase. It surely did puzzle me too.

    Also I was a little bothered by the drawing this tme, especially the last panel. Does Arlo look a little odd to anyone else? Is it just the leaning-over posture, or are they crowded in that last panel, with the grill and all?

  11. George P Sep 4th 2010 at 06:56 am 11

    I grew up within a few dozen miles of Jimmy Johnson, and I don’t recalled “covered up” being used in this context. However, that’s the way I interpreted it, and he was in Alabama*.

    Gene’s living and working in a tourist area and in a tourist business (not as much as the motel was, though), so he’s going to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off all weekend.

    Arlo looks excited, so I think he’s excited about the three day weekend.

    * “A kid I went to school with moved to Alabama and raised the average IQ of both states.”

  12. chuckers Sep 4th 2010 at 08:44 am 12

    Not realising that Labour Day was coming up in the US, I didn’t make the connection with “long weekend.”

    Now that it has clicked, Arlo’s comment is along the lines of “well, duh! Of course it is going to be a long weekend. Monday’s a holiday!”

    Which makes a LOT more sense than the “covered up” business, which I took to mean something like being misconstrued with being in bed all weekend.

  13. djembe1 Sep 4th 2010 at 09:23 am 13

    Janis has been shown to be heavily into texting and other electronic communications with Gene ever since he left for college. On a past busy period this summer, Janis texted him to ask why his Facebook status hadn’t been updated. Gene was shown working, somewhat disheveled, sweat dripping, reading the text, with a look of “yeah, right.” I took this text as a pre-emptive strike (which I used to guess what “covered up” meant). Janis is disappointed because she can’t communicate, and Arlo is excited about grilling as per Kamino #9.

  14. Powers Sep 4th 2010 at 09:30 am 14

    I thought they were battening down the restaurant’s windows and such in preparation for a hurricane.

  15. George P Sep 4th 2010 at 10:05 am 15

    A hurricane was my first thought after the first frame, too, but Janis would have been freaking out.

  16. Kevin A Sep 4th 2010 at 11:03 am 16

    1966 Funk & Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary: “cover: n 6. The table articles, as plate, silverware, napkin etc. for one person.”

    2005 American Heritage(R) Dictionary: n 6. A table setting for one person: “Covers were laid for ten.”

    “The Dock”: The name of the restaurant where Gene works. ( http://comics.com/arlo&janis/2010-06-25/ )

  17. Kevin A Sep 4th 2010 at 11:12 am 17

    Putting service lingo aside, I will continue to picture a long weekend of canoodling below deck.

  18. Ted in Fort Lauderdale Sep 4th 2010 at 11:34 am 18

    Following from the defs that Kevin offered, one of the comics sites had a comment from someone in the food service business that a cover in a restaurant is a filled seat or meal served, so to be “covered up” could mean they are fully booked (or expect to have all the tables filled) all weekend, implying Gene will be swamped with work.

  19. George P Sep 4th 2010 at 12:05 pm 19

    That’s got to be it.

  20. turquoise cow Sep 4th 2010 at 12:23 pm 20

    Since he lives on a boat, (and there was a hurricane recently) I figured that Gene meant that the weather was going to be bad and they were going to have to cover every thing up to keep it dry or at least relatively undamaged from the winds and rain - and the weather would be so bad that there would be no power/cell phone service to communicate with his mother. However, there was no mention of a storm, I think Janis would be concerned if there was to be a storm, and I think it unlikely that the author was aware of the imminent Earl when he was writing.

    Also: when someone says something that someone else is pleased about (in this case an upcoming holiday), I’ve always thought the proper response would be “I hear that!(or you!)” but “I heard that,” sounds a bit odd to me…

    This should really be your tagline, Bill: CIDU: A Debate on Linguistics (and sometimes some Comics). Or perhaps something more snazzily worded. :)

  21. pepperjackcandy Sep 4th 2010 at 12:48 pm 21

    I thought Arlo was agreeing with Janis’s disappointment (maybe adding a little frustration in, based on the facial expression), because he’s going to have to spend Saturday and Sunday cleaning his grill in preparation for Monday.

  22. David N Sep 4th 2010 at 02:07 pm 22

    Like Kevin A, I vote for canoodling. Don’t know if it addresses the question, but it’s usually a darn good answer. :)

  23. James Pollock Sep 4th 2010 at 02:58 pm 23

    Janis is perturbed because she thinks of the Labor Day weekend as a time for family, and Gene says that not only won’t he be able to come home, but he’s going to be so busy he can’t take any phone calls or make any Internet communication. To Janis, this is further evidence of “empty nest”. Arlo, on the other hand, has been looking forward to an “empty nest” for quite some time.

  24. CIDU Bill Sep 4th 2010 at 09:57 pm 24

    If Gene is saying the restaurant is going to be busy this weekend, why doesn’ he just tell Janis he probably won’t be able to respond to any e-mails, etc? He is capable of turning off his phone, after all.

    And wouldn’t last Labor Day weekend have been just as busy?

  25. OMJulie Sep 4th 2010 at 10:35 pm 25

    All these explanations make sense, but I don’t understand why he would say, “I heard that!” Heard what?

  26. Mark in Boston Sep 4th 2010 at 11:00 pm 26

    I thought it was Hurricane Earl. But then I thought, no, with the lead time Jimmy couldn’t have known. Besides which, it wouldn’t make sense for Gene to tell his mom, “We’ve boarded up everything, expecting a Category 1 hurricane. Don’t try and get in touch with me for the next week.”

  27. Powers Sep 5th 2010 at 09:24 am 27

    OMJulie: He heard that it was going to be a long weekend (three days!). He doesn’t know that Janis meant it slightly differently.

  28. Detcord Sep 5th 2010 at 10:25 am 28

    Although I agree Jimmy Johnson’s choice of the phrase “covered up” is strange, as I’ve followed Arlo for many years I’m confident this reference is meant to convey a heavy workload for Gene and the others at the restaurant. Since Gene knows his mother would worry, unnecessarily, if she received ’s no responses to her emails, texts etc. he has kindly informed her, in advance, not to bother as he won’t be able to respond.

    I see this as another plank in the deck Jimmy is building to demonstrate that Gene is growing up and becoming an adult - i.e. one who thinks of others before there is a problem. I’ve been impressed with Jimmy’s long-view approach to his story lines.

    Still, I have to agree with mitch4 (10) that the drawing of Arlo in the last panel is a little odd. It’s almost like he’s suddenly become an old man.

  29. Jeff in Ann Arbor Sep 5th 2010 at 10:01 pm 29

    I think Arlo’s strange look is the look of a crazed barbecue-er looking forward to a three-day weekend. Either that or he had too much coffee.

  30. buzz Sep 5th 2010 at 10:07 pm 30

    Arlo is thinking about sex.

    Arlo is always thinking about sex.

  31. James Pollock Sep 6th 2010 at 12:57 am 31

    buzz, Arlo is NOT always thinking about sex. It is firmly established that sometimes he is thinking about sailboats.

  32. CIDU Bill Sep 6th 2010 at 12:58 am 32

    Sex on a sailboat.

  33. Detcord Sep 6th 2010 at 03:07 am 33

    CIDU Bill (32)

    I think you’re getting into Eww territory. In most of Arlo’s sail off into the sunset dreams, he’s alone.

  34. Mark in Boston Sep 6th 2010 at 12:49 pm 34

    Would it be clearer if Arlo said “So I heard” instead of “I heard that”?

  35. Kevin A Sep 6th 2010 at 02:43 pm 35

    It’s not so much what he said as how he (looks when he) said it. If it was a casual, gentle throwaway, “I ‘heard that.” as in “I heard a rumor that such was the case”, I’d have immediately found it very amusing. I can read it that way now that I’ve adjusted to yet another of Jimmy’s facial expressions that inadvertently cue the reader to the see an unintended emotion (or possible demonic/alien possession).

  36. Ted in Fort Lauderdale Sep 6th 2010 at 03:06 pm 36

    I took Arlo’s statement and expression as ones of excitement - looking forward to the long weekend and as others have said, a major (and perhaps last of the year) grilling extravaganza. The “I heard” rather than “I hear” sounded a bit odd to me, but I assumed it was a Gulf-coast idiom, since those pop up not infrequently in A&J…

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