Arnold Zwicky's Blog

For yesterday, 1/18, in Bizarro, the 6th and I suppose last Waynoratu Nosferamanteau:

The male nosferatu (holding a wineglass of what is presumably blood, and chatting with his young female companion at some sort of vampiric meet-and-greet) seems to be wearing a Canadian toque (= tuque), with pom-pom, to warm his head during the cold dark nights in his coffin (yes, it’s very silly) (if you’re puzzled by the odd symbols in the cartoon — Wayno says there are 4 in this strip — see this Page)

The nosferamanteau is Nosferatoque = Nosferatu + toque. As for the hat, from NOAD:

noun toque: [a] a woman’s small hat, typically having a narrow, closely turned-up brim. [b] historical a small cap or bonnet having a narrow brim or no brim. [c] Canadian a close-fitting knitted hat, often with a tassel or pom-pom on the crown. [variant of tuque] [d] a tall white hat with a full pouched crown, worn by chefs.

(The heart tattoo with A B O in it, for the blood types A B AB and O, is a nice touch.)

For some reason, the 1/18 Bizarro didn’t come through on my comics feed yesterday, nor is it on Wayno’s Facebook page, but I chased it down on-line.

Meanwhile, my old friend Bonnie Bendon — Benita Bendon Campbell — wrote me yesterday to say that it was her husband Ed Campbell’s birthday, which always reminded her of Ann Daingerfield Zwicky (through whom I met Bonnie, back at the end of the 1950s), because Ann died on 1/17 (back in 1985). And I wrote that it was an excellent day for a birthday; also on that day:

— Thesaurus Day (recognizing Peter Mark Roget’s birthday, 1779)

— A.A. Milne’s birthday, 1882, on which we celebrate Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh, and their friends

— and World Snowman Day (because 1  18 looks like a snowman with a broom beside him)

And here I mentioned that the world authority on vir nivis, the snowman, is a friend of mine (and a frequent character on this blog): the cartoonist Bob Eckstein, a man of many parts, embracing not only cartoons and snowmen, but also bookstores, museums, squirrel-foiling, and more. (I am not above talking up my having rubbed elbows with people of accomplishment and renown.)

Then I was onto days and occasions.

Today, 1/19,  just Edgar Allen Poe’s birthday, 1809 (and nevermore).

But tomorrow, 1/20!

— most significantly, Martin Luther King Day, Jr. Day: a day to think about how to advance MLK’s generous and ambitious vision for our diverse society, now threatened on many sides

— also Squirrel Appreciation Day (a bit easier for me in January, now that they’ve stopped trying to bury acorns in my flowerpots)

— the feast day of St. Sebastian (the arrow-pierced martyr and now gay icon, often depicted on this blog)

— and, for those who worship in the Grabpussy cult, the inauguration of POTUS 47 (previously 45)

This entry was posted on January 19, 2025 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Clothing, Events and occasions, Hats, Holidays, Linguistics in the comics, My life, People, Portmanteaus, Puns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.