Friday, March 15, 2013

Mary Worth 1,553

I love asparagus, almost as much as I'm lovin' Mama Kinley!

Today's Full Strip

24 comments:

fauxprof said...

Hold on--that lumpy mass she was putting in the oven was a lamb roast? Mary needs to have a word with the butcher at Supermarket. (Better serving suggestion: mint jelly instead of asparagus, roast potatoes instead of mashed. Neither of which Mama Kinley would like, either.)

I am truly loving Mama Kinley, possibly the best MW character since Jill Black!

Tony said...

Mary's appropriate response to Elinor: "Well, then there will be more asparagus for Beth and me."

Mary's Old Lady Smell said...


It's a pity about the asparagus. From the looks of Elinor's leather draped skull, it looks like she could use more fiber in her diet. Her grimace and attitide indicate she's been irregular for months.

Anonymous said...


I bet she only shoots out little goat pellets... on June 1 and December 1.

Link3220 said...

I see Mary is wearing her jacket from back when she was a member of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Gina said...

As sides? AS SIDES? Who talks like that??

Anonymous said...

Whoa, Mary's got her Full Meddle Jacket on tonight.

Mike in Cleveland said...

@ fauxprof: I think Ms. Elinor "Rain on Your Parade" Kinley has something more in common with Jill Black. In yesterday's strip she tells Beth that she knows nothing about Romance in real life. I think we're in for another "I've soured on life because I was abandoned" story.

Meanwhile Beth, who spends every panel looking clearly frustrated at having to share a vicinity with her Mother, should know that a Romance Novel is not about real life--it's about fantasies. I expect Beth would be quite successful with this genre, for under the influence of Elinor she will have developed a very lively fantasy life.


@ Gina: I agree. Who talks like that? Mary sounds like she's quoting a restaurant menu.

Yahoonski said...

People who hang out at Diner talk like that, that's who. BTW, I LOL'd at Link3220's comment, but "Full Meddle Jacket" deserves Comment-of-the Year consideration.

Nance said...

Okay, I have a few problems with this dialogue.

1. Who says "lamb roast" instead of "roast lamb"?

2. As others noted, who refers to the rest of the meal as "sides"?

3. I'm even wondering if anyone really says, as part of a greeting to dinner guests, "Hope you're hungry!" It sounds terrible, as if you're saying, "There's a ton of food here, and I hope you eat like pigs."

Finally, lamb and asparagus are very specific flavors. Lots of people find them objectionable and unpleasant. Yet, Mary serves them together for a first-time dinner party with strangers.

It's like she's purposely provoking Elinor. I hope she is!

Link3220 said...

@Nance I thought the same thing about the menu, why would anyone serve asparagus to people they didn't know? Maybe it's a phallic symbol thing, and Mary wants to see how a romance writer eats things shaped like, um... asparagus.
As far as the dialogue, look on the bright side. I remember a time before KMoy knew what a contraction was, and Mary would've said "I hope you are hungry!"

Dawn Weston's Evil Twin said...

This is great! Elinor Kinley just stepped into the apartment, and the drama is already beginning! Will the Westons be attending? Who would want to miss this?!

kathyo said...

Beth looks horrified at Mary's mention of "lamb roast." Is she vegan?

Carlye said...

Yuck! I hate lamb, and asparagus! I'll be going now...the Bum Boat is calling!

Maude Findlay said...

@Caryle- I'm with you, I never liked lamb or asparagus, either! But I wouldn't dare tell someone that had invited me to dinner that I didn't like what they were serving. I'd take very small portions, eat a few bites to be polite, then hope that whatever they were serving for dessert had no raisins. If I had to, I'd eat something at home afterward.

Elinor isn't just mean & snarky, she's rude- and I'll bet we're going to hear a story soon, about why she is! Maybe her husband went out for a pack of asparagus and never came back?

MissScarlet said...

My guess is that we've got an Alzheimer's plot going on here. Mary will make the necessary recommendations for Elinor appropriate placement. Once she's out of the picture, Beth will find romance...or whatever. Or is that too topical for MW?

meg said...

Ding-dong! It's Mary's doorbell. And standing there is Tom Harpman, politely returning the soup bowl.
He's introduced to the Kinleys, and Mama Kinley says, "You're Irish? I don't like the Irish."

Vicki said...

Mary's plan for dessert is, they will all take their dinner knives and spread cake frosting on two Nilla Wafers and then mash them together like oreos. How Fun! As much fun as exclamation points! Elinor will enjoy that!

Mary's fork said...

If you squint your eyes a bit, asparagus stalks look like exclamation points!

Mike in Cleveland said...

@ Mary's fork:

Hey, yeah!

Dave in Parma said...

If we're lucky this is the beginning of Elinor's demonstration of her Tourette's/Coprolaila syndrome. or maybe she's the only one in the strip who speaks the truth.

@Meg: Tom Harpman isn't Irish, he's Santa Royale WASP-ish.

Laura Canon said...

People serve asparagus, and lamb for that matter, because it suggests class. Lamb says "I know how to cook something besides Hamburger Helper" and asparagus says "I went out and spent $5 on a vegetable, when I could have just served kale!"

Anonymous said...

I don't want to even think this thought, but I'm afraid Elinor's going to get a little tipsy on the cooking sherry and then, in a tragic, melancholy, violet-tinged flashback, we will hear the story of her One Great Love. Who died rescuing puppies, or orphans. Love on the order of Tristan and Isolde. Rhett and Scarlett. Kanye and Kim. Big, bad love. Oh, Elinor of Charterstone! No wonder you can't abide romance novels, once you've experienced True Love!

Wanders said...

Meg, you've really let me down with your plot prediction, but as Saturday revealed, Mary's doorbell doesn't go "Ding Dong."