Today’s Wayno/Piraro Bizarro (Wayno’s title: “Mythical Miscreants”):
(#1) (If you’re puzzled by the odd symbols in the cartoon — Dan Piraro says there are 6 in this strip — see this Page.)
leprobate, a portmanteau of leprechaun + reprobate. Naughty, naughty boys.
The occasion. Looking ahead to St. Patrick’s day, 3/17, three days after Pi Day, on 3/14; two after the Ides of March and (the very local holiday) Higashi Day (on which, for years, Jacques and I would set off to drive east from Palo Alto to Columbus OH), on 3/15.
Leprechauns. The small, mischievous sprites of Irish folklore (turned into conventional figures of popular culture). Leprechauns are notorious tricksters, given to practical jokes. Here, the Dollar Bill on a String prank: attach a string to the underside of a dollar bill and hide behind a corner; when somebody reaches down for the bill, you yank it away. Also note the pot of cabbage instead of the legendary pot of gold.
Reprobates. From NOAD:
noun réprobàte: 1 an unprincipled person (often used humorously or affectionately): he had to present himself as more of a lovable reprobate than a spirit of corruption. …
Here, we see the reprobates given over to the vices of drinking and smoking, defiantly.
(I haven’t yet worked out what role the portable radio plays in all of this. But I’m open for enlightenment.)