Semper Ubi Sub Ubi
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Tony:
April 6th, 2012 at 9:03 am
I have always heard that ‘See you in the funny papers’ was started by Walt Kelly, creator of the Pogo Comic strip series. He often included special ‘hellos’ to friends in the strip often by naming the boat, street signs, etc. after his friends.
EPR:
May 18th, 2012 at 10:40 am
I just remember it from “It’s A Wonderful Life”: ‘See you in the funny papers! Hee Haw!’ :)
Eloise Rochelle:
June 10th, 2012 at 8:55 pm
When Fiorello LaGuardia was mayor of New York City, from 1934 to 1945, he took to the radio on Sunday mornings and read the funny papers to listeners.
I still remember how his voice sounded.
Very New York-y.
Steve Proctor:
December 1st, 2012 at 10:05 pm
Phase originated before TV. People looked forward to sunday paper funny pages.
In my opinion you used the term in a sense that they were looking forward to seeing you again and that they enjoy your company just like looking forward to seeing the funny papers!
chris:
January 2nd, 2013 at 11:00 am
Very famous saying…Sayings today have come along way. Kids change the slang all the time.. Very new york indead.
Short Review: Robopocalypse, by Daniel Wilson | Third Point of Singularity:
June 19th, 2013 at 9:12 am
[…] papers”. Wow. What person living in the 21st century uses a phrase with an etymology that dates back to the 1930s? Robopocalypse is full of howlers of this sort– especially of the macho action film […]
Cathy:
December 21st, 2013 at 10:13 pm
My mom was born in 1923. She always said that to me when I was saying goodbye, even when I was very young. I say it to my kids too…
Cathy:
December 21st, 2013 at 10:21 pm
We used to reply to each other by saying not if I see you first.
Jay Benedict:
January 8th, 2014 at 8:58 pm
I “found a wealth of fun reading everything!” Thank You!
Anthony:
January 13th, 2014 at 10:10 am
My late dad, who would be 100 this year, used to use the phrase. When I first used it around some of my friends, near 50, they stared at me like I was from Mars. Yet, it has caught on and we now commonly use “see you in the funny papers” as a way to say goodbye. ????
JDnHuntsvilleAL:
February 6th, 2014 at 11:42 am
“One reason that “See you in the funny papers” sounds so dated to us today is because “funny papers/pages/sheets” was eventually largely replaced by the term “comics” for that part of the newspaper, a process that probably began in the 1940s and was complete by the 1960s.”
~
Uh, I was just coming of age in the 60s, and we always called that section the “funny paper”, or more often just “the funnies” — NEVER the comics. I don’t remember even seeing them referred to as “comics” until recently. To us, “comics” were the bound collections of various funnies sold for a nickle in the local five-and-dime stores.
MIKE HARLO:
February 12th, 2014 at 1:24 pm
IS IT HOSTILE?
Suzie:
February 27th, 2014 at 9:48 pm
So “fun” to join this discussion. I’m 48 and my father always said goodnight to us by saying “see you in the funny papers”. He also called a station wagon a beach wagon, the refrigerator an ice box, and coca cola, etc. he called tonic not soda. And yes, we called them The Funnies, never the comics.
The Info Serf:
March 4th, 2014 at 2:55 pm
So far, I’ve not seen anyone refer to the classic line being uttered in the movie, “O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?” by John Goodman’s character, after delivering a sound thrashing to George Clooney’s character, and then stealing his already-stolen car.
TM2:
March 18th, 2014 at 9:27 pm
I believe the term originates as a friendly farewell with a bit of wit along the lines of “not if I see you first”. I think the term means “I will see you (or your likeness) when I read the funny papers, as you are a bit of a cartoon-y character”.
Gordon Hoffman:
May 6th, 2014 at 11:29 am
I work at a corporatized hospital that implements procedures that are counter intuitive like ones that one might find in a Dilbert comic; as if the comic was an instructional manual. I am not sure which character might represent me, but I feel like I can see me and my coworkers in the Funny Papers.
Barbara Morgan:
June 25th, 2014 at 9:37 am
“See you in the funnies” means ‘we’ll share a laugh when I catch up with you later’. I’ve used this expression for years and consider it my signature Bye-Bye equivalent.
Old Trooper:
June 30th, 2014 at 4:23 pm
I accidentally found my way here when my wife and I used the term “funny papers.” I realized that I must be getting old as I don’t hear that term used anymore. The term, “funny papers” appears to date to circa 1918. We just used some “funny papers” as packaging material for a package to an APO where some “funny papers” may help lighten the mood.
John:
August 28th, 2014 at 1:50 pm
What a great explanation! I use this expression a lot (and a lot of other antiquated expressions).
I’ve been going online to find out the history or origins of all these goofy expressions, because half of them, I don’t know their meaning! (and my younger friends look at me with big question marks on their faces.) I think I learned them from my grandparents… and old cartoons.
thanks for your post!
Sharee:
December 8th, 2014 at 3:09 pm
I always felt that “see you in the funny papers” meant to imply (beyond its obvious meaning) that life is somewhat absurd and to survive it, and more importantly to thrive, one must first understand that very simple, yet vital truth.
But, maybe, I was projecting :)
Andy McClure:
January 14th, 2015 at 10:01 pm
I remember it from my youth (born 1955) and think its a fun way to say good bye, maybe causing someone to ponder. It also reflects my approach to life that I do not take myself, or life, too seriously. After all, the funny papers are about all of us.
Andy McClure:
January 14th, 2015 at 10:07 pm
And by the way, I like very much what Sharee had to say.
See you in the funny papers.
Keith Davis:
May 10th, 2015 at 3:18 pm
I’m 73 and heard & used the phrase all my life. I thought it was from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ film. In SF we also had a mayor reading the Sunday (Chronicle/Examiner) funnies on the radio – pre-TV. Late 40s early 50s. Another quip I still use (but only old men w/ mechanical bent would understand) is “I’m not hitting on all 8 today…” Have fun w/ that one, but I know from whence it came… kpd
Holmes morton:
August 15th, 2015 at 10:09 am
As mentioned, used by John Goodman in “o, Brother…”. Ray McKinnon also starred in that film and is now creator of “Rectify” on Sundance Channel. The main character uttered the phrase as the last line spoken on the season 3 finale. Coincidence?
Connie Mctasney:
November 9th, 2015 at 9:59 am
When I was growing up this saying was frequently used in my family, but ours was a little bit different. We always said, “See you in the funny papers on the monkey side.” Wondering where ‘the monkey’ came from.
Gregory Fouss:
June 2nd, 2016 at 1:21 am
when I was little at bed time my father would always say ” see you in the funny papers” something that always stuck with me.
BCM:
June 16th, 2016 at 12:25 am
I am nearly 50 and my grandmother always said it to us grandchildren when we went to bed. I love this phrase and the reaction I get when I use it.
I asked my grandmother once what it means… she said goodnight and I will see you in your dreams. Hearing it used other ways it seems that it was always a very friendly goodbye.
In this list Suzie shows it to mean goodnight. I am curious if we are from a similar area of the US.
wade watson:
August 27th, 2016 at 5:53 pm
it is the last thing my mother said to me as she was dying.
Anonymous:
September 27th, 2017 at 11:22 pm
I’ve heard that “see you in the funny papers” was an indication of the deaths you find in the newspapers. Or it’s another phrase for someone who plans on taking there life.
Kerry McCollough:
March 7th, 2018 at 8:35 pm
Used the phrase for many years much like ‘later, alligator'; ‘in awhile, crocodile. As a small child, they were the funny papers. Then they became the funnies. Comic books…Mad Magazine…*what?…dreaming of another reality
not really:
January 13th, 2019 at 1:49 am
The movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” (see below) was released in 1946. The comic strip Pogo didn’t begin until 1948. So the phrase existed before the strip, and was very common in the early 1940s.
Jim Harper:
November 26th, 2019 at 9:28 pm
I’s 50+ and I remember it from the TV show MASH. I believe it was Hawkeye who said it.
Anonymous:
December 26th, 2019 at 4:49 pm
The fact that the description of a newspaper is being overlooked in this comment section is an affront to the internet. That’s the funniest part of the article. lol
Carlos:
May 21st, 2020 at 11:13 am
It was used in the 1934 MGM film Fugitive Lovers, for what that’s worth.
Procter Smith:
June 13th, 2020 at 10:45 pm
Born 1951. Started reading the “Funnies” or “Sunday Funnies” by the late 50s. My father would hoard the rest of the Sunday paper but would read the Sports Section first so that I could have it when I was finished with the Funnies. JDn is spot on in his commentary, and, lest anyone dismiss him or her as a son or daughter of a South that had not yet entered the Modern Age, I grew up in the North (New Jersey, just outside New York City). My father, born 1925, also in NJ, always called them the “Funnies,” so of course I did, too – and not to be confused with the “bound collections of various funnies” that I started collecting by 1960. Thanks for setting the record straight, JDn!
Mike:
July 12th, 2020 at 12:05 am
My parents were born just after WW1 in Pennsylvania. “See ya in the funny papers” was a phrase my siblings and I knew to mean “see ya later” but we never heard it from our parents. We did call the comics “the funny pages” and on Sunday they came in color so they were called “the Sunday funnies”. I came to this website after spontaneously using the phrase a few hours ago to say farewell on a family Zoom call and then becoming curious about its origins.
AV M:
December 2nd, 2020 at 2:04 pm
I recall old Depression-era farmers and/or veterans replying or quipping back, “Not if I see you first!” to get up on the person initially saying the good-bye in question… I’ve gotten my kids to banter back and forth like that and always notice older-generation people hearing them getting a kick out of it!
Michael:
December 24th, 2020 at 5:32 am
Wade, that’s a beautiful note – thank you
Jim Wood:
January 21st, 2021 at 10:29 pm
No kidding, news, trivia and even comical images printed on paper and distributed manually? What will they think of next!
Karla Richardson Hays:
March 5th, 2021 at 2:36 pm
My father’s farewell to me and others from my youngest days. I miss him and hearing that good-by. It makes me smile. So…. see ya in the funny papers ?
Michele:
March 19th, 2021 at 3:45 pm
When tucking us in at night, my parents would say “see you in the funnies” as a way of saying “see you in the morning.” We would riff on that by saying back “see you in the cereal,” or juice, or toast, or some other morning thing.
Just me...:
June 14th, 2021 at 12:39 am
I’ve always thought that phrase meant “I’ll never see you again” because it’s not realistic to be characters in comics.
Tony NY:
August 16th, 2021 at 5:06 pm
Vito Corleone said it in “The Godfather.”
Robert Jevons:
December 27th, 2021 at 12:28 pm
Janis Joplin sang the phrase in “Bye Bye Baby.”