Gothamist: Pandas and Grammar

Turnkey Business

Mon, 09 Jan 2006 08:03:53 -0500

I thought pandas aren't really like bears but they are closer to bears than raccoons. Anyway...yeah, the joke is silly, but it mentions a panda!

K. Thor Jensen

Wed, 07 Jan 2004 13:34:27 -0500

papercraft panda: http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/eng/papercraft/w-animals4/panda/index.html

Hoofin

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 22:57:31 -0500

Maybe I'm missing something here, but ordinarily a panda: eats shoots and leaves (two types of things a panda eats. These would be: 1) shoots, and 2) leaves. If the punctuation is wrong in the sentence, it could be turned into: Eats, shoots & leaves. As three verbs. The panda in the story is doing the second, and that is the joke. This could additionally be made "off color", with a change in the fact pattern and a different understanding of the verb "shoots", involving copulation. Actually, when I saw the cover, I thought it was a pretty witty way to sell the book, even without the bear. But bears do sell.

jen h.

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 15:58:56 -0500

Jen, that's one seriously scary picture of a panda. It's like out of "28 Days Later" or something.

matt

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 15:11:29 -0500

special to larrydvm: agreed.

larrydvm

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 14:59:47 -0500

Holy cow. There are two postings here from people who don't get the joke. And it would be wrong of me to explain. Please, folks, re-read it!

Simon from London

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 14:20:37 -0500

I agree with Eli that it's the worst joke ever. But the in the original version of the joke,the panda isn't ordering a sandwich but employing the services of a prostitute. I'll let you work it out, but presumably it was deemed a bit too close to the knuckle for a book that probably found its way into a good few schoolkids' Christmas stockings...

jenny

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 14:12:51 -0500

its a Harvard comma. you can leave it or take it out. its all about preference but most newspapers will leave the last comma out. [gawd, I spent way too much time in j-school]

Jen

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 14:03:35 -0500

I thought pandas aren't really like bears but they are closer to bears than raccoons. Anyway...yeah, the joke is silly, but it mentions a panda!

jkcohen

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 12:39:44 -0500

Doesn't the serial comma rule apply here, i.e., eats, shoots, and leaves?

eli

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 12:31:51 -0500

Worst... joke... ever...

Frankenstein

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 11:36:55 -0500

Actually, Pandas Bears aren't "bear-like mammals" at all but are, in fact, actually bears. The Lesser Panda, on the other hand, is a kind of raccoon.

Coolfer

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 10:28:46 -0500

I saw that article. Looks like a cool book. Sure beats reading the AP style guide.