What The Duck – Oversized Tablets – By Aaron Johnson

Transcript

• Box 1: Thank you for taking pictures with your oversized tablet at a public event. (Click. Click.)
• Box 2: Makes me look slightly less ridiculous. (Click. Click.)
• Box 3: Down in front! (Click. Click.)

Vocabulary

• Oversized (adj.) /ˈəʊ.və.saɪz/ too big or bigger than usual
• tablet (n.) /ˈtæb.lət/ a small, flat computer that is controlled by touching the screen or by using a special pen
• slightly /ˈslaɪt.li/ a little
• ridiculous /rɪˈdɪk.jʊ.ləs/ stupid or unreasonable and deserving to be laughed at
• Down in front! = People in the front should get lower so they can take a picture.

Context

• This comic strip is making fun of people who use large tablets to take pictures in public places (something that is more and more common). The person using his laptop to take pictures does look ridiculous, since no one would carry his laptop around to take pictures (it’s heavy, cumbersome, and doesn’t take good pictures anyway); and the person coming in box 3 looks even more so. By making those people ridiculous, the author wants to say that people who take pictures with their tablets also look ridiculous.

Language Feature

• Thank you for  …
  • Notice the expression in the first sentence: Thank you for taking … Thank you for is always followed by a V+ing. Examples:
    • Thank you for visiting this website.
    • Thanks for reading this.
    • Thanks for coming