Wallace the Brave by Will Henry for September 24, 2022

LOL I always liked “whence.”

“Whence”, though, doesn’t need the “from”.

Love Seagull’s stance and expression in frame 2.

Whence, thence, hence. Whither, thither, hither. And mustn’t forget yon. Great old words. Too bad they’re almost extinct.

Know of any other phrases that utilizes “whence” aside from “from whence they/he/she/it (or any other pronoun) came”?

I use it often..for fun.

Seagull: “grak? [Really? Whence? Really? What are you, Moby Dick? Come on Dad, move this story along, it feels like this is taking days…]”

Dad: “Quiet, Wallace.”

Every time he uses it makes me wince.

British people still use “whence” fairly routinely.

This is exactly the right time for a grammar dispute.

I’m enjoying the “conversation” between Dad and the seagull.

“From whence” always sounds redundant, since “whence” means “from where.”

Perhaps the word “Zianthiads” will end up being unscrambled? Too early in the AM for my brain to attempt, other than seeing “Diana” in there.

Seagull, this is not the time to that!

Sorry.. this bedtime story is just daft.

Arrr, grak be proper pirate syntax ye scurvy stowaway.

A fairly old-fashioned one by this day and age, but yes, it is indeed a word.

A Jack Benny running gag was a song he wrote that used the word “whence” and every time he got to it, whoever was listening went whence? and he’d have to explain the word.

And so few people remember the correct meaning of “wherefore”, either. They completely misunderstand Juliette’s lament on the balcony.

It’s a perfectly cromulent word.

How does a bird ask if “Whence” is really a word in seagull? You need a word in your language for the word to ask if it exists (or you have to actually say the word which the bird did not). And if you have such a word, then why are you asking?

Speaking of pronouns, such a weird practice. It’s a wonder that kids ever get the concept (that e.g. my “you” is your “me”) when (many) parents and grandparents don’t use pronouns with the kids for years. Yet the first couple of years of language awareness are when children are absorbing words and ideas with lightning speed. They catch on even though Granny keeps saying, “Tell Granny what’s wrong.”

Mr. Henry: So, I love this comic strip in general; it’s always a jolt of wonder and joy in my day, which is equal parts delightful and necessary these days. However, I have never bothered to comment before, but I am loving this current arc so much that I could no longer resist. This is pure, unadulterated awesomeness, so much so, that it could have been turned into a kid’s cartoon in the 80s. I just want an ongoing strip of THIS. Thank you for a great deal of entertainment and wonder, and, this particular week, for interdimensional pirates and karate-seagulls, things I did not know I needed in my life!

Whence, when it was in common use, meant “from where.” In “modern” use (an oxymoron, in itself), it could mean either “from where” or “where.” Since this cartoon’s use is not logically modern (although it is), the “from” should have been omitted. — The English Professor

“Whence” doesn’t need “from” – that’s like saying “from from where.” But since most people don’t know the difference between your and you’re, or its and it’s, or there, their, and they’re, it’s sort of polishing the rose to make a fuss about it.