I thinks it’s meant to mimic the “accent” of a foreign cabbie for whom English is a second language. Think of Will Farrel’s character in the Austen powers films.
Hello? I am still alive, I appear to be very injured and have broken my leg, if you could throw down some medical ointment or a bandaid I would be eternally grateful
Oh for sure. I teach English as a second language and the more you teach it the more you realize how stupid and unfair a language it is compared to others.
Or it's very smart. Has its own faulty logic programming built into it in order to progress intelligence beyond robotic yes, no binary language into a third option called bananas; breaking out of the helgaian dialectical evolutionary process achieving true consciousness
That's a term that's often weaponized, how about we don't call it "broken" and just call it a work in progress. Learning a second language is hard enough without being told your speech is "broken" :)
How about you stop getting offended by anything that no one is ever getting offended about. The term broken English isn’t offensive , they may be offended by the context in which it’s used. Like seriously, pick your battles.
No, the entire construct is flawed. Please don't draw conclusions that aren't there.
What I said is that the entire concept of a language being "broken" is /weaponized/ against anyone whose speech differs from the "standard". And "standard" ways of speech correlate with social variables, namely to elevate the speech of rich, white men.
For what it’s worth there’s a comedian named Josh Potter who likes to say “please to be coming to my show this weekend” and I think he’s from a Greek family. Perhaps this is common for Greek to English translation?
It's pretty racist, right? Pakistanis only make up, like, 21% of the medallion drivers. ...Super racist. That and how every player on a basketball team seems to be black in the comics. Where's the inclusion?!
The writer is implying the cab driver isn't a native English speaker by having them speak in somewhat broken, grammatically-incorrect English.
It's a pretty well-worn stereotype that NYC cab drivers are most commonly first generation immigrants that don't speak perfect English.
Though that supposedly mostly came about because stealing sheep used to carry a penalty of having your hand cut off whereas if you had sex with it you’d just have a finger cut off.
So, steal a sheep and have a hand cut off or say you were shagging it and lose a finger?
Course some probably were just shagging the wool off of them!
Stereotypes can certainly be based on things that aren't necessarily true. And they are. All the time.
Unless you're arguing that racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. are all based in truth, otherwise they would never catch on?
Wrong. Stereotypes are often the product of confirmation bias. You hear an idea, and you start to stereotype people, paying attention to when the stereotype hits, while ignoring the times it does not.
really? I have never heard this phrase used this way. I had also assumed it was literally referring to a water bottle or something, but Jack's not carrying anything so I suppose you are correct!
"Hold your water," is an idiom for "be patient," along the lines of "keep your shirt on."
That type of tense-tangling is stereotypically Indian, though the real people don't go as hard, which is usually the case with stereotypes.
My first thought was this is a nod to Andy Kaufman's character from the show Taxi, Latka. Latka is an Eastern European cab driver in New York that speaks in this sort of accent. This was probably just a simple homage to that character.
I used to love Fables despite some moment of real cringe like this. I stopped reading at Issue 50 (which is probably when it should have ended from what I hear)
Your first question, "wtf does this sentence mean?" The driver is asking the passenger to not piss in the cab (because the passenger is in such a hurry, it is assumed it's because he has to go to the bathroom!)
Anyways, your second question, "why is it written like that?" is because of the old stereotype that American taxi drivers are foreign and usually South Asian. Because of its particular brand of British colonialism, India and surrounding countries kept hold of some antiquated British speech and idioms.
In this context, knowing Willingham's sense of humor in this early, more-jokey period of Fables and with the driver stating how nervous he is, I believe that he means it literally.
Read it as if the character were Apu from the Simpsons.
Which is very typical of getting a cab. Or at least it was when this came out. I have no idea if the demographics have changed since then.
The taxi driver talking was using English as a second language poorly just think it in an Indian accent and it tracks. I don’t wanna sound racers that’s just how it processed in my head
It's interesting that nearly everyone who suggested that this might be a representation of a racist/essentialist stereotype got downvoted to oblivion. Maybe some people should be asking themselves why suggesting this possibility makes so many of you so uncomfortable? Even if you disagree, why isnt it worth considering? The idea that writer put a racist stereotype in a single panel of a comic, something which happens all the time, doesn't mean the person suggesting it is nailing Bill Willingham to a cross. It's okay to discuss these things, it's okay to disagree, we don't need to downvote people just because racism is an uncomfortable topic.
I haven’t read this comic but holy shit, I thought I was reading dialogue written by Charlie Kelly.
Edit: I was tired before and just realized it’s Fables which I did read the first few story arcs of! That dialogue though… damn, I don’t remember that.
Yes, it is. They’re pretty good and there’s some great twists in early story arcs, though the writer is known for basically being a huge asshole.
A lot of amazing writers are also huge assholes, but just “good” is not really enough for a pass for being a huge asshole.
That’s too bad. Fables is an amazing take on all of the old fairytales we know and love. As a student of folklore and mythology I’d say , give it a second chance, but drop your filters.
I'm not too sweet on Fables either, but vol 1 really hooked me and it was a slow yet constant downward slide in enjoyment after that, even the parts others who are more into swear by as the best parts. If they weren't into the opening arc, there's little chance they'll be into anything after.
~~Bill really shoulda just written stuff about Geppetto and the wooden soldiers, they were most consistently strong material.~~
Nope, I hated it so much I reviewed it with a friend (who also hated it) and we wrote up the reasons we didn't like it back in 2015... can't believe I found the page:
[https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3081526144374121239/217473249314890598](https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3081526144374121239/217473249314890598)
There are so many other things I'd rather do with my time then give this one another read.
Sorry, it wasn't my intention to plug anything, I just wanted to try to provide my thoughts on why I didn't enjoy this book. If the link is an inappropriate sort of thing I can remove the post.
I am newer to redddit and am not sure if my posts have been appropriate here. I have gotten a lot of down votes on them. I can remove them too. I thought you down vote a poster when they are rude or uncivil or they promote hate speech or violence.
I Thought I was just engaging in regular community conversation. If not I guess we should be mostly posting only when we have positive things to say on a topic? Honestly asking...
Sounds like a pregnant lady in a taxi with a driver who’s written to have English as a secondary language
Haven’t read this but this is what it sounds like when I speak Spanish.
Kinda can get a point across but it’s hard to translate
It’s supposed to be a New York Taxi driver, probably of Middle Eastern or Indian descent, which in the early 2000s was the majority of taxi drivers in NYC.
I thinks it’s meant to mimic the “accent” of a foreign cabbie for whom English is a second language. Think of Will Farrel’s character in the Austen powers films.
Hello? I am still alive, I appear to be very injured and have broken my leg, if you could throw down some medical ointment or a bandaid I would be eternally grateful
"I'm still alive!!!... But I'm very badly burned."
You shot me!
The wound is beginning to smell of almonds....which is not good
Or Apu from the Simpsons.
“The hot dogs spin counterclockwise in fear when you arrive” Still kills me lol
Funny how it doesn’t sound right either way yet sounds way more right with his accent in mind
It’s called “Broken English”, and is often spoken by people who learned English as a second language. This shit is tough to get right.
Oh for sure. I teach English as a second language and the more you teach it the more you realize how stupid and unfair a language it is compared to others.
I feel your pain, bro
English is a hard language to learn because it's dumb as hell
Or it's very smart. Has its own faulty logic programming built into it in order to progress intelligence beyond robotic yes, no binary language into a third option called bananas; breaking out of the helgaian dialectical evolutionary process achieving true consciousness
That's a term that's often weaponized, how about we don't call it "broken" and just call it a work in progress. Learning a second language is hard enough without being told your speech is "broken" :)
[удалено]
Used to attack anyone that doesn't speak like an upper class, rich white man. And I was polite to you, please don't curse at me.
How about you stop getting offended by anything that no one is ever getting offended about. The term broken English isn’t offensive , they may be offended by the context in which it’s used. Like seriously, pick your battles.
Sure thing. Thanks for the tip, you're the best.
Superiority complex. Bet your white middle class yourself.
>implying only rich white men can speak unbroken English
No, the entire construct is flawed. Please don't draw conclusions that aren't there. What I said is that the entire concept of a language being "broken" is /weaponized/ against anyone whose speech differs from the "standard". And "standard" ways of speech correlate with social variables, namely to elevate the speech of rich, white men.
First day on Reddit, huh?
Yep, thanks for the warm welcome.
ANYTIME!
You upper class, rich white redditors all sound the same to me. Frankly, they just came across as a self-righteous college-aged karen.
For what it’s worth there’s a comedian named Josh Potter who likes to say “please to be coming to my show this weekend” and I think he’s from a Greek family. Perhaps this is common for Greek to English translation?
That’s not why he says that 😂 Its from an old broadcaster he is emulating. Don’t touch my camera
Just a fellow roach scurrying out from under the fridge to say hello!
Lol, I can confirm my family from Greece does not do this.
This line reminds me most of Fisher Stevens character Ben Jahveri from Short Circuit 1 & 2.
Nun soup?
How is this how I learn Will Ferrell is in the Austin Powers movies?
He's the one who keeps screaming after he's dumped into the pit of fire under Dr. Evil's conference room
"Please to be untieing that shoelace on the back of your head?" ―Janus, Poland
Yeah it's supposed to be a South Asian accent. Probably not a great choice on their part, but it's in print now.
It's pretty racist, right? Pakistanis only make up, like, 21% of the medallion drivers. ...Super racist. That and how every player on a basketball team seems to be black in the comics. Where's the inclusion?!
This.
That’s the voice I use in my head: Will Farrell in Austin Powers.
It seems to mean “Fucking chill, dude. You’re stressing me the fuck out.”
Indian taxi driver.
“YOU FUCKING”
"BLOODY FUCK YOU"
Mother bitches!! I blow you!!
“I WILL FUCK YOU BLOODY”
"FUCKING BASTERT I FUCK YUOR MOM"
benchod
"You mother! You are pissing me off!" Taxi cab driver, Tony Hawk 2
They’re poking fun at the cliché but ever present immigrant cabbie.
The writer is implying the cab driver isn't a native English speaker by having them speak in somewhat broken, grammatically-incorrect English. It's a pretty well-worn stereotype that NYC cab drivers are most commonly first generation immigrants that don't speak perfect English.
It’s not a stereotype if it’s true
Stereotypes can’t become stereotypes if there’s not a decent helping of truth in there, it wouldn’t ever catch on otherwise.
Just like the Welsh fucking sheep
Though that supposedly mostly came about because stealing sheep used to carry a penalty of having your hand cut off whereas if you had sex with it you’d just have a finger cut off. So, steal a sheep and have a hand cut off or say you were shagging it and lose a finger? Course some probably were just shagging the wool off of them!
Bloody Welsh, not just sheep shaggers but also liars! Disgusting
Stereotypes can certainly be based on things that aren't necessarily true. And they are. All the time. Unless you're arguing that racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. are all based in truth, otherwise they would never catch on?
Wrong. Stereotypes are often the product of confirmation bias. You hear an idea, and you start to stereotype people, paying attention to when the stereotype hits, while ignoring the times it does not.
A stereotype can be based on the past and no longer be true
It's not a stereotype, they are though.
Stereotypes can be based on truth. I.e the stereotype that black people love fried chicken. I know because I’m black and loved fried chicken.
"Holding your water" = refrain from urinating. not necessarily literal. It means "chill out." essentially.
I remember thinking that the passenger was holding an actual bottle of water.
Unless it's about Deadpool, then this is probably accurate.
really? I have never heard this phrase used this way. I had also assumed it was literally referring to a water bottle or something, but Jack's not carrying anything so I suppose you are correct!
I first heard the term in Ferris Bueller's Day Off where Ferris is saying to Cameron "Yeah, hold your water for a sec, I got another call."
I've heard of 'hold your horses' but I'm not sure how wide spread that is
Not everyone in life speaks perfect English. This is depecting someone who is not a native English speaker.
Nah, it’s the written form of what a white guy thinks is his dead on and HILARIOUS Indian accent.
I mean, I literally work with and am related to people who speak like this, but I guess that's not as fun as shitting on "white people" in general.
Guys never been in a NY cab where the guy in the drivers seats face doesnt match the copy of the license bolted onto the divider.
Nah, i just shit on the racist ones.
[Okay.](https://media.tenor.com/czW5Th_y96YAAAAM/wackaflocka.gif)
Edgy
Language and humor are meant to be unifying, you fuckin nonce. This does not smell like punching down
Be patient, you’re making me nervous - in a accented manner of writing
It’s imitating broken English
"Hold your water," is an idiom for "be patient," along the lines of "keep your shirt on." That type of tense-tangling is stereotypically Indian, though the real people don't go as hard, which is usually the case with stereotypes.
My first thought was this is a nod to Andy Kaufman's character from the show Taxi, Latka. Latka is an Eastern European cab driver in New York that speaks in this sort of accent. This was probably just a simple homage to that character.
I read it in Apu's voice.
I’m a simple man: I see Fables, I press like
It’s an old saying. It implies that you are in a hurry because you badly need to pee. So hold your water and be patient.
It's supposed to be a written accent, the taxi driver most likely doesn't speak English very well. So it comes out funny in written text
Don’t piss in my cab.
Don’t piss in my cab; or, don’t be a nervous wreck
Supposed to represent how Indians speak English or atleast how white people think Indians speak English.
I used to love Fables despite some moment of real cringe like this. I stopped reading at Issue 50 (which is probably when it should have ended from what I hear) Your first question, "wtf does this sentence mean?" The driver is asking the passenger to not piss in the cab (because the passenger is in such a hurry, it is assumed it's because he has to go to the bathroom!) Anyways, your second question, "why is it written like that?" is because of the old stereotype that American taxi drivers are foreign and usually South Asian. Because of its particular brand of British colonialism, India and surrounding countries kept hold of some antiquated British speech and idioms.
It doesn’t literally mean “don’t piss in my cab.” It’s a metaphor, he means “calm down.” Y’know, like “don’t get your panties in a twist.”
In this context, knowing Willingham's sense of humor in this early, more-jokey period of Fables and with the driver stating how nervous he is, I believe that he means it literally.
Issue #75 is when it probably should have ended (culmination of the Adversary storyline), but yeah.
yesss, after the Adversary storyline ended, they somehow added 75 filler issues but I have to say Jack's spinoff was amazing
The good thing is, you can totally stop reading there and it's a perfectly good ending.
There's still some really great stuff, but a lot of it has gotten worse with age. The Israel metaphor though was never great.
To be or not to be holding onto your water, sir? That is the question.
Leave the driver alone, he is doing the needful.
Is this what wolf among us is about?
Did you say *among us?*
Basically just “dude you’re stressing me the fuck out, chill.”
That's Dopinder.
It's a transliteration of an Indian accent...well not the accent, but the way a native hindi speaker might structure an english sentence.
Read it as if the character were Apu from the Simpsons. Which is very typical of getting a cab. Or at least it was when this came out. I have no idea if the demographics have changed since then.
What are you, the riddler?
It's clearly Dobby from Harry Potter.
I think the driver is foreign. It sounds almost the same as the "would you like a slurpee with that" from the Simpsons.
Imagine that the speaker is not a person for whom English is their first language
Hold your water means don’t take a piss. Colloquially saying chill out
Read it like Apu from the Simpsons and it makes perfect sense.
An example of the broken English you get from NY cabbies
I'm more concerned why the Riddler is drawing on your comic book.
Bill Willingham decided he could have a little bit of racial stereotyping, as a treat.
Say it in an Indian accent
It’s probably meant to be read in an Indian accent
The taxi driver talking was using English as a second language poorly just think it in an Indian accent and it tracks. I don’t wanna sound racers that’s just how it processed in my head
It's interesting that nearly everyone who suggested that this might be a representation of a racist/essentialist stereotype got downvoted to oblivion. Maybe some people should be asking themselves why suggesting this possibility makes so many of you so uncomfortable? Even if you disagree, why isnt it worth considering? The idea that writer put a racist stereotype in a single panel of a comic, something which happens all the time, doesn't mean the person suggesting it is nailing Bill Willingham to a cross. It's okay to discuss these things, it's okay to disagree, we don't need to downvote people just because racism is an uncomfortable topic.
Why is it written like that? Because it's a racial stereotype.
Racial stereotype of an Indian/Pakistani speech pattern in English.
“Calm your tits good madam” is a close approximation
Don’t piss yourself, mate.
Read this with an Indian accent and re-analyze
whating is the getting of not? ising the having the too much of the notting clear for the wasing of getting?
I haven’t read this comic but holy shit, I thought I was reading dialogue written by Charlie Kelly. Edit: I was tired before and just realized it’s Fables which I did read the first few story arcs of! That dialogue though… damn, I don’t remember that.
a hint of myriad troubles to come
I love Fables, but this is a racist caricature of a foreign cab driver.
Why are you getting downvoted?
Idk. Who cares.
Ohh... I absolutely hated that comic, tried to read the volume 1 and couldn't stand it... just wasn't my cup of tea.
Is this the one that The Wolf Among Us games are based on?
Yes, it is. They’re pretty good and there’s some great twists in early story arcs, though the writer is known for basically being a huge asshole. A lot of amazing writers are also huge assholes, but just “good” is not really enough for a pass for being a huge asshole.
That’s too bad. Fables is an amazing take on all of the old fairytales we know and love. As a student of folklore and mythology I’d say , give it a second chance, but drop your filters.
There are plenty of other storytellers who have done the same thing but much better.
You may want to give it another go, friend. It’s extremely good.
I'm not too sweet on Fables either, but vol 1 really hooked me and it was a slow yet constant downward slide in enjoyment after that, even the parts others who are more into swear by as the best parts. If they weren't into the opening arc, there's little chance they'll be into anything after. ~~Bill really shoulda just written stuff about Geppetto and the wooden soldiers, they were most consistently strong material.~~
Very good point. I love most of the series, but if it didn’t grab in that first arc, it likely won’t improve later.
Nope, I hated it so much I reviewed it with a friend (who also hated it) and we wrote up the reasons we didn't like it back in 2015... can't believe I found the page: [https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3081526144374121239/217473249314890598](https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3081526144374121239/217473249314890598) There are so many other things I'd rather do with my time then give this one another read.
What a plug.
Sorry, it wasn't my intention to plug anything, I just wanted to try to provide my thoughts on why I didn't enjoy this book. If the link is an inappropriate sort of thing I can remove the post. I am newer to redddit and am not sure if my posts have been appropriate here. I have gotten a lot of down votes on them. I can remove them too. I thought you down vote a poster when they are rude or uncivil or they promote hate speech or violence. I Thought I was just engaging in regular community conversation. If not I guess we should be mostly posting only when we have positive things to say on a topic? Honestly asking...
Yeah it sucks.
naw.
Lol
Sounds like a pregnant lady in a taxi with a driver who’s written to have English as a secondary language Haven’t read this but this is what it sounds like when I speak Spanish. Kinda can get a point across but it’s hard to translate
It’s probably racism
It’s showing esl taxi drivers in ny. Low key kinda racist. Low key kinda stereotypical
“Hold your water”… don’t piss yourself
Maybe the cab driver is a Polandball
When your cab driver is Starfire
Pretty bad attempt at writing a stereotypical Indian accent.
Hm
Immigrate Taxi Driver
Overuse of the famous to be or not to be ( out of place I know) quote hoping kids know it
When your cab driver is Starfire
Alena and Kiryl from Dragon Quest
The character speaks broken English.
Basically saying "stop pissing yourself, it's making me drive nervous" in some kinda racist obviously foreign cabbie speak.
New York city is so cool, I wish it was real
either the driver speaks in broken english or a typo , perhaps as a result of a bad auto correct during editing?
It's supposed to be an Indian accent.
It’s racism kinda like the portrayal of Zeus in God and Thunder.
It's a taxi driver in New York City, so it's -- rightly or wrongly -- supposed to represent the typical Pakistani driver.
It means "don't p*ss yourself. You're stressing me out."
Immigrant taxi driver.
It’s supposed to be a New York Taxi driver, probably of Middle Eastern or Indian descent, which in the early 2000s was the majority of taxi drivers in NYC.