Pearls Before Swine: Difference between revisions

* [[Black Comedy]]: And how; Pastis comments in his treasuries that even he underestimates just how "dark" his material is. He recounts the story of a telephone call between himself and fellow cartoonist Darby Conley (''[[Get Fuzzy]]'') about an idea for a strip wherein Pig falls in love with a doomed female pig at a slaughterhouse. Darby's side of the conversation was mostly long silences.

* [[Breaking Bad News Gently]]

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Pig.

** And [[Creator Cameo|Pastis]] [[Take That Me|himself]]

* [[Dinner Order Flub]]: One strip had Guard Duck on a date with Maura, ordering "The chateaubriand, cooked medium well, and a glass of your finest pinot noir". Although the actual strip wasn't an example, Stephan Pastis said this about the strip in the ''Pearls Sells Out'' commentary:

{{quote|"I really don't know what chateaubriand is. It just sounded like something fancy you'd order in an expensive restaurant. I'm hoping it is actually a type of food." (For the record, chateaubriand ''is'' a type of food. It's a kind of steak.) }}

* [[The Ditz]]: Pig. He's so very sweet-natured about it, though, that his shallowness almost twists back around to depth.

{{quote|'''Rat:''' What is true happiness?...How does a dumb pig like you answer a question like that?

{{quote|'''Rat''': It's best to love your family as you would a Siberian Tiger - from a distance, preferably separated by bars.}}

* [[Ear Worm]]: In one strip, Rat starts singing "Take Me Home, Country Roads" just to get it stuck in everyone's head.

** [[Check, Please!]]

* [[Elmuh Fudd Syndwome]]: Initially, the crocs of Zeeba Zeeba Eata had a case of this, but they now pronounce their "R's" normarlly.

* [[Fantastic Racism]]: The croc-dad is prejudiced against [http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2012/05/29 amphibians].

* [[Feghoot]]: Happens all the time.

* [[First Law of Resurrection]]: [[Word of God]] confirms that characters can "un-die."

* [[Fluffy Cloud Heaven]]: Seen in one arc in which Pastis decides he needs to kill off major characters to boost circulation...namely, himself and Rat. It's OK, though; turns out God is the head of their syndicate, and there are stuffed animal sales at stake.

* [[Good Angel, Bad Angel]]: Subverted; Rat has two devils.

* [[Groin Attack]]: Rat punishes Pig's ignorance by belting him in "[[Unusual Euphemism|the Oompa Loompas]]."

* [[Happy Place]]: Pig has at least one, where it rains Gummy Bears.

* [[Headphones Equal Isolation]]: Played with in [http://www.fatheadsweb.com/pix/PearlsBeforeSwine11042007-2.jpg this strip].

* [[Idea Bulb]]: Parodied. Rat pretends to come up with an idea when a real bulb burns out and he's all out.

* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: Suspected by many of being Pastis' favorite type of gag. Frequently lampshaded.

* [[Insistent Terminology]]: "(something) o' (something)"

* [[Ironic Echo]]: In one arc, Pig's tiny ego gets physically stepped on by Rat's much larger ego, who says "I think I just stepped on a doody." Later on, Rat's ego withers to a minimal size after Farina dumps him; Pig steps on the shrunken ego and says, of course, "I think I just stepped on a doody."

** Once, Patis snuck four breast references into one strip...where Pig accidently had breast implants.

** The 2004 Election series, oh so much. For example, Rat wants to bomb France, and at a baseball game, Pig kissed baseballs, and...{{spoiler|threw babies.}}

* [[Self-Deprecation]]: Almost any strip with Pastis in it. Also used with Pig.

* [[Serious Business]]: Never let your library books go overdue.

* [[Ted Baxter]]: The Crocodile fraternity and Larry think they're excellent predators, but they're just morons

* [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]]: Farina's bow.

* [[Title Drop]]: Saying it was lampshaded doesn't quite cover it. Think Groucho Marx and ''[[You Bet Your Life]]''...

* [[True Art Is Angsty]]: Uh-huh! Stephan Pastis knows it! One set of episodes makes a [[Parody]] out of ''[[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]]'', with Rat as Mister Rogers. First the trolley to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe comes in, carrying the beer bottles that Rat likes so much. Then at the NOMB, Rat witnesses a Muslim terrorist puppet named Jihad Jerry pump King Friday XIII full of lead, and then tell Queen Sara Saturday to wear a burka, despite Rat urging Jerry to be as democratic as possible. Finally, Rat appears wearing a burka himself, explaining that JJ has taken over the show, but things will stay the same...only for a mooing camel to appear in place of the trolley. Pastis is just that kind of guy!

* [[Tsundere]]: Pigita.

* [[The Unintelligible]]: Snuffles the Cat.

* [[The Un-Smile]]: Rat's smile causes himself to explode.

* [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]]: Rat.

* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: Testicles are referred to as "Oompa Loompas."

* [[Waxing Lyrical]]: Some of the [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]s, including the first ever Sunday pun:

{{quote|'''Rat:''' [[The Rolling Stones|You can't always get what you won, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you knead.]]}}

* [[White Sheep]]: Junior

* [[Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?]]: Because Stephan has a short memory.