Comments (16) Jump to Comments Form

1. 

   AKHenderson said, 4 months ago

   Actually the word is “baksheesh.”

   http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-baksheesh.htm

2. 

   4deerinmyyard said, 4 months ago

   gimmickgenius said: Nobody seems to be commenting on the running subtext of the last few strips… . [Sam is] coming to believe that she’s stupid and ignorant and that her position is hopeless and she’ll never amount to anything.

   Yeah, I was concerned about that too. The grownups seem oblivious to what she’s taking from their remarks. It’s so easy to mess up a kid.

3. 

   baslim_the_begger said, 4 months ago

   her real lesson is to realize that former (?) career dopers are not a good source of true information

4. 

   DeathDealer said, 4 months ago

   Is Duke really an uncle to Alex? I think I have missed that through the years.

5. 

   Alabama_Al said, 4 months ago

   The common thread which binds the Doonesbury characters is the barely accredited Walden College, where most of the main characters were students way back when. The exact family lines are somewhat murky, but Duke seems to be related to Zonker and Zipper. To the others, Duke appears to be just an acquaintance, if that.

6. 

   Jogger2 said, 4 months ago

   I thought “baksheesh” meant “gratuity” or “tip.”

7. 

   diggitt said, 4 months ago

   Duke is Zonker’s uncle and Zonker is Zipper’s uncle. The historical taxonomy is this: Zonker appeared as a Walden student, then Duke was introduced. Years later, Zipper appeared at Walden and Duke’s son Earl (whose mother was a never-seen Vegas stripper) appeared in Duke’s DC office, complete with attitude and sunglasses.

   There’s hardly ever been interaction between the Duke stories and the Zonker stories, except that Duke disappeared and was declared dead. Uncle Stupid (Alex’s stepfather, whose name I forget) was a caretaker at his house and steals stuff from the estate.

8. 

   summerdog said, 4 months ago

   Thanks, diggitt!

9. 

   Tcee said, 4 months ago

   And, Duke is based, not very loosely on…

   Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)

10. 

    dstufff said, 4 months ago

    I believe Alex’s stepfather is Uncle Stupidhead.

11. 

    gimmickgenius said, 4 months ago

    “Uncle Stupidhead“‘s real name is Zeke Brenner.

12. 

    JonD17 said, 4 months ago

    Tcee, I thought it was the other way around. LOL

13. 

    Ushindi said, 4 months ago

    And Zeke married J.J. Caucus (Joanie’s daughter and Alex’s mother) after she and Mike were divorced, and Mike married Kim, who is now Alex’s step-mother (Joanie is still married to Rick Redfern, of course, but Lacey is dead). Got it?

14. 

    prasrinivara said, 4 months ago

    Z’s almost right, baksheesh (derived from Persian–same word in Urdu and Hindi) is very much a part-of-life in Muddle East

15. 

    Chikuku said, 4 months ago

    Bakshish, bucksheesh, etc., mean both tip and bribe.

16. 

    lindz.coop said, 3 months ago

    In Washington we call it lobbying.