Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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i had another euphemism listed at first but maggie said it was very upsetting
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May 22, 2026

Bulwark

by David M Willis on March 16, 2023 at 12:01 am
  • 03 – Joementum
└ Tags: amber, joe, joyce

Discussion (188) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    March 16, 2023 at 12:01 am | #

    …we’re BOTH makin’ up words now, right?

    Joyce (thinking): …do I want clarification about poking the Palpatine??

    • Rotunda
      Rotunda
      March 16, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

      Or palpatine the Pokemon…

      • Pergola
        Pergola
        March 16, 2023 at 8:02 am | #

        Palpating the pokemon.

        • The Wellerman
          The Wellerman
          March 16, 2023 at 3:26 pm | #

          My favorite so far. 😊😊😊

    • Dara
      Dara
      March 16, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

      dang this is a good storyline for faces 😀

      • raker
        raker
        March 16, 2023 at 2:23 pm | #

        Panel 5!

    • Jon S.
      Jon S.
      March 16, 2023 at 12:20 am | #

      The face beneath the hood. Yo know, Palpatine.

      • All-Purpose Guru
        All-Purpose Guru
        March 16, 2023 at 12:32 am | #

        OMG

      • Bicycle Bill
        Bicycle Bill
        March 16, 2023 at 12:55 am | #

        Thank you.  I was having a hard time figuring out that one too.

      • Decidedly Orthogonal
        Decidedly Orthogonal
        March 16, 2023 at 1:48 am | #

        And playing with the dark side of the force.

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        March 16, 2023 at 7:24 pm | #

        Just gonna say most women look a hell of a lot better under their hoods than Palpatine did in the silly Ewoks movie.

    • Stu
      Stu
      March 16, 2023 at 10:13 am | #

      Well, Palpatine usually DID wear a hood over his bald head…

    • uze
      uze
      March 16, 2023 at 6:25 pm | #

      I have to say it every time I see past strips: it’s insane how much the art has evolved over a decade!

  2. Paradoxius
    Paradoxius
    March 16, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    Changed your own oil.

    • The Wellerman
      The Wellerman
      March 16, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

      Tickled your clam.

      • John Campbell
        John Campbell
        March 16, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

        Did laundry.

        • brionl
          brionl
          March 16, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

          Spin Cycle!

        • Leorale
          Leorale
          March 16, 2023 at 12:17 am | #

          Paddled her own canoe

          • milu
            milu
            March 16, 2023 at 2:17 am | #

            Touched your tralala

            • DarkoNeko
              DarkoNeko
              March 16, 2023 at 5:00 am | #

              hmmm, her ding ding dong

              • Theluxland
                Theluxland
                March 16, 2023 at 7:57 am | #

                Flicked your bean

                • Lawzlo
                  Lawzlo
                  March 16, 2023 at 8:19 am | #

                  She bop.

                • milu
                  milu
                  March 16, 2023 at 10:51 am | #

                  ringed her be-e-ell,
                  ringed her bell

                • Risky
                  Risky
                  March 17, 2023 at 1:26 am | #

                  An hour in bed on TikTok

          • Andrews
            Andrews
            March 16, 2023 at 7:15 pm | #

            Twanged her own banjo

      • True Survivor
        True Survivor
        March 16, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

        Don’t tickle clams, they beautiful and majestic creatures of the sea. Some can live over four centuries.

        • Leorale
          Leorale
          March 16, 2023 at 12:16 am | #

          And when they get to be that old, they get to be big. I mean real big. I mean humongous!
          Humongous, giant clams.

          • True Survivor
            True Survivor
            March 16, 2023 at 12:36 am | #

            My college’s Biology department building – which was my major so I spent a lot of time there – had the shell of giant clam on display. It was beautiful in a tragic sort of way – up close you could see the marks on the exterior where it suffered cuts, these complex patterns of erosion and the calcified remains of coral that had grown on it. It was like a whole reef in miniature. It must have been so majestic when it was alive. I hope it wasn’t harvested for its shell and they just bought on someone found already dead.

            • Leorale
              Leorale
              March 17, 2023 at 10:57 am | #

              ohhh that sounds magnificent.
              Where Arlo Guthrie grew up, I saw a natural history museum that had a huge clamshell in it. Not as big and marvelous-sounding as the one you’re talking about, but I did wonder if it was THE CLAM that inspired the story-song of Reuben Clamso.

          • DaveM
            DaveM
            March 16, 2023 at 5:25 am | #

            Arlo Guthrie for the win!

    • Danae Jay, Local Gay
      Danae Jay, Local Gay
      March 16, 2023 at 1:40 am | #

      Mysteried your Science Theatre 3000 times

      • Katherine
        Katherine
        March 16, 2023 at 1:49 am | #

        ok this one got me XD

    • Dave
      Dave
      March 16, 2023 at 2:08 am | #

      Acted with integrity.

    • Owlmirror
      Owlmirror
      March 16, 2023 at 7:53 am | #

      Tickled the pickle.

      Danced with death (hood +/or petit mort)

      Mortified the flesh.

      Whipped the batter to a froth.

      Washed the marble.

      Sailed the tide.

      Churned the butter.

      Beat the carpet.

      Drove stick solo.

      Sewed the button.

      Made the soup and stirred the pot.

      Washed the purse.

      Put a penny in the purse.

      Put a penny in the purse and won the jackpot.

    • Owlmirror
      Owlmirror
      March 16, 2023 at 8:44 am | #

      Conversed with oneself.

      Sewed the seam.

      Played pirate.

      Parallel parked the speedboat.

      Shelled the peas.

      Captained the ship.

      Dug up the potato.

      Picked the mushroom.

      Picked the pocket.

      Picked the pickle.

      Pickled the onion.

      • deliverything
        deliverything
        March 16, 2023 at 9:36 am | #

        From an optional action in the somewhat well-known interactive fiction game I-0 (all these preceeded by “Though you spend as much time ” and followed by ” as the next girl, this may not be the right moment.”):
        splittin’ the kitten
        dialing zero
        tickling the elmo
        exploring South America
        in single digits
        ringing for service
        drawing inside the lines
        giving yourself the finger
        diving into the deep end
        taming the lion
        playing solitaire
        running in circles
        stroking the tabby

        (I used the TXD tool to extract these; pretty sure they’re selected randomly in-game.)

        • Paradoxius
          Paradoxius
          March 16, 2023 at 6:16 pm | #

          (Courtesy of Frank Loesser)

          Rang your own bell
          Light your own lamp
          Waved your own banner
          Swung your own gate
          Popped your springs
          Burned your bridge
          Quacked your duck
          Cooked your own goose
          Splashed your dressing

    • OBBWG
      OBBWG
      March 16, 2023 at 11:29 am | #

      Is that what you kids are callin’ it these days? Back in my day we did it through two feet o’ snow uphill both ways.

      • Emperor Norton II
        Emperor Norton II
        March 16, 2023 at 3:47 pm | #

        But you still did it, because by god, it was the right thing to do, and every true ‘Murrican were willing to make this sacrifice for God and Country!

  3. The Wellerman
    The Wellerman
    March 16, 2023 at 12:03 am | #

    Walmart logo? Pika pika?

    Also, LOL 🤣🤣🤣

  4. shadowcell
    shadowcell
    March 16, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

    Dumbing of Age Book 13: Because the Walmart Logo Looks Like an Anus

    now available at Walmart!

    • Opus the Poet
      Opus the Poet
      March 16, 2023 at 7:50 pm | #

      I LOLed at this one, just not very loud.

  5. bootshivers
    bootshivers
    March 16, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

    Fully prepared for Joe to be having A Moment at the mental imagery.

  6. True Survivor
    True Survivor
    March 16, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

    Poking your Palpatine sounds like an unnecessary euphemism for charging your cell phone. UNLIMITED POWER!!!

  7. BBCC
    BBCC
    March 16, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

    Amber is the BEST sister but holy shit. Panel 4 made me involuntarily horror shudder.

    • RassilonTDavros
      RassilonTDavros
      March 16, 2023 at 12:14 am | #

      Amber is Great

  8. hazel
    hazel
    March 16, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

    Re: alt text, you can’t just say that and not share. Commit to the bit! Apologize to your wife later :p

    • Dana
      Dana
      March 16, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

      Seconded!

      • brionl
        brionl
        March 16, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

        At least give a confirmation if somebody guesses it.

    • Dara
      Dara
      March 16, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

      Third!

    • Leorale
      Leorale
      March 16, 2023 at 12:13 am | #

      give us the horror

    • brute
      brute
      March 16, 2023 at 12:15 am | #

      fourthed?

    • The Wellerman
      The Wellerman
      March 16, 2023 at 12:21 am | #

      fifth!

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      March 16, 2023 at 2:34 am | #

      I also want to know what this euphemism was.

      • Clif
        Clif
        March 16, 2023 at 3:23 am | #

        Maggie knows best. Or at least that would be my bet.

        • Mark
          Mark
          March 16, 2023 at 7:06 am | #

          Sometimes it’s more fun to leave something as a mystery.

          • milu
            milu
            March 16, 2023 at 10:54 am | #

            especially if the mystery is just gonna make everyone go ew
            i’m fin with that sort of mystery

      • Azhrei Vep
        Azhrei Vep
        March 18, 2023 at 9:08 am | #

        I AM DYING TO KNOW. UPSET ME!

    • Tan
      Tan
      March 16, 2023 at 6:59 pm | #

      The world needs to know

  9. Sajuuk-Khar
    Sajuuk-Khar
    March 16, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

    The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some would consider to be…unnatural 😏

    • True Survivor
      True Survivor
      March 16, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

      Ironic. He could save others from [little] death, but not himself.

      I’m sorry.

  10. RacingTurtle
    RacingTurtle
    March 16, 2023 at 12:06 am | #

    Joyce, you could have said the entirety of panel 2 *inside* your head

    But then, I suppose, you would not be Joyce

  11. Joe Moose
    Joe Moose
    March 16, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

    To borrow a line from Lovage, you stroked that furry coat. XD

    • milu
      milu
      March 16, 2023 at 2:32 am | #

      Wow, i hadn’t thought of Lovage in a minute XD

      Good wholesome fun.

  12. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    March 16, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

    Bulwark

    • milu
      milu
      March 16, 2023 at 10:52 am | #

      You know what they say: if it warks like a bull,

  13. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    March 16, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    And Maggie’s usually right about the upsetting stuff. Hi Maggie!

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      March 16, 2023 at 1:52 pm | #

      By Request: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNUX82Pcz6Q

  14. Warcodered
    Warcodered
    March 16, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

    You know now that she mentions it the Walmart symbol does look like that….I miss the smiley faces.

    • Songbird
      Songbird
      March 16, 2023 at 9:11 pm | #

      I wonder why they changed it in the first place? And who thought that new logo was a good idea; I mean, somebody in that company HAD to have known, right?

  15. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    March 16, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

    Welp guess I’m never looking at the Walmart logo again for the rest of my life without thinking about that and laughing

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      March 16, 2023 at 2:14 am | #

      Save money. Live better. *

  16. Dana
    Dana
    March 16, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

    Wow, Joyce has been going at it enough to develop an elaborate procedure in so short a time.

  17. newlland(Henryvolt)
    newlland(Henryvolt)
    March 16, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

    Today’s Reddit post, Mystery Twin: https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbingofage/comments/11sjlw3/dumbing_of_age_headcannon_despite_not_much_being/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

    And this is day 6 of the Greatest Rivals Poll:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbingofage/comments/11ob9xb/greatest_nemesis_type_rivalry_in_doa/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

  18. Mark Sebree
    Mark Sebree
    March 16, 2023 at 12:13 am | #

    Check out the Yellow Pages. Let your fingers do the walking.

    • StClair
      StClair
      March 16, 2023 at 1:34 am | #

      That is such a 20th century reference.

      • Mark Sebree
        Mark Sebree
        March 16, 2023 at 11:47 pm | #

        Well, I do turn 59 in a week and a half.

  19. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    March 16, 2023 at 12:17 am | #

    I doubt she’s gotten to the Target Self-Checkout.
    Probably more at the… Dover “Bulls “Eye Care.
    There are not a lot of oval logos.

    • Dana
      Dana
      March 16, 2023 at 12:25 am | #

      There’s got to be some mom-and-pop florists who have orchid logos. Mom-and-Pop situations are less of a solo thing though.

      • milu
        milu
        March 16, 2023 at 10:57 am | #

        you’d be surprised.

      • Mr. Random
        Mr. Random
        March 16, 2023 at 11:05 am | #

        There’s a place called the red orchid theater.

        Feels oddly appropriate given the subject and her choice of venue.

  20. Chaucer59
    Chaucer59
    March 16, 2023 at 12:17 am | #

    And the Target logo DOESN’T look like an anus????

    • Dana
      Dana
      March 16, 2023 at 12:19 am | #

      It looks more like a nipple, I suppose.

    • elebenty
      elebenty
      March 16, 2023 at 3:34 am | #

      It looks like a Lyme infection.

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      March 16, 2023 at 3:53 am | #

      If your anus looks like the Target logo you should seek medical attention

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        March 16, 2023 at 7:58 pm | #

        Take my imaginary upvote!

  21. Alongcameaspider
    Alongcameaspider
    March 16, 2023 at 12:19 am | #

    I really like Amber and Joyce’s dynamic here and hope we get a lot more of it

    • FadingMemory
      FadingMemory
      March 16, 2023 at 9:44 am | #

      I’ve been enjoying all the arcs as of late but have admittedly missed Amber’s presence for much of it!

  22. Twig
    Twig
    March 16, 2023 at 12:22 am | #

    …What was the other euphemism

  23. EAG46
    EAG46
    March 16, 2023 at 12:30 am | #

    Danced by herself? Rode the Magic Wand? Tickled the kitty? “Performed an elaborate procedure” is a good euphemism too, I have to admit.

    • Reaver
      Reaver
      March 16, 2023 at 7:01 am | #

      Rang the devil’s doorbell, dingdongditched, scratched the evil itch, polished the pearl, went clamdiving, oscar’s her grouch….

  24. Derek
    Derek
    March 16, 2023 at 12:31 am | #

    nobody on this planet says “poked Palpatine” as an euphemism for masturbation, I’ll eat my fucking hat if anyone does.

    • Leorale
      Leorale
      March 16, 2023 at 12:36 am | #

      Amber does. There is a picture of her saying it on this very page.

      • Derek
        Derek
        March 16, 2023 at 5:34 pm | #

        Amber is not a real person

        • Leorale
          Leorale
          March 17, 2023 at 11:04 am | #

          Okay, fine, Willis does. (Or did, in this one comic.)

          Anyway, silliness aside, looks like Willis indeed had Amber make up a new euphemism.

    • Jamie
      Jamie
      March 16, 2023 at 12:37 am | #

      I have no faith in this “Target Self-Checkout” thing either.

      • zee
        zee
        March 16, 2023 at 12:09 pm | #

        I can at least get the logic of target self checkout. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around “poked your Palpatine”…

        • Leorale
          Leorale
          March 17, 2023 at 11:08 am | #

          I didn’t get it either, til Stu pointed out that Palpatine is a bald man who wears a hood.

    • anon
      anon
      March 16, 2023 at 12:53 am | #

      alt text makes me wonder what the others were if there was something more ‘uspetting’ than poked palpatine lol

    • Boobery
      Boobery
      March 16, 2023 at 1:08 am | #

      I am now

    • huesatlight
      huesatlight
      March 16, 2023 at 11:28 pm | #

      “eating ones own hat”

    • shoopdawhoop
      shoopdawhoop
      March 16, 2023 at 11:50 pm | #

      I can’t think of anything less conducive to masturbation than an Emperor analogy

  25. Steelbright
    Steelbright
    March 16, 2023 at 12:37 am | #

    Joke’s on you though Joyce, once (or twice) is never enough

  26. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    March 16, 2023 at 12:51 am | #

    Snrrk, very nice, very nice.

  27. anon
    anon
    March 16, 2023 at 12:52 am | #

    lol i’m surprised she’d say that to joe even as like a euphemism, though be interesting to see joe/amber’s reaction if it was like “dorothy was in the room and we were holding hands til the last couple minutes”

    • huesatlight
      huesatlight
      March 16, 2023 at 1:28 am | #

      She’s been less ashamed about private stuff with Joe than with other people. And her talk with Becky helped her with her shame response to horniness. Becky assured her sex didn’t make people wretched. It’s something she knew, but shame isn’t about knowing facts, it’s the emotional response. And that’s what was holding her back. Dorothy didn’t tell/show her anything she couldn’t have gotten elsewhere. Elsewheres that don’t pose a risk of increasing her shame reflex.

      • anon
        anon
        March 18, 2023 at 4:54 am | #

        even if you’re able to casually talk it about a friend, i def wouldn’t say it to someone i was interested in or vice versa since it might def be awkward/prolly end up sending unintentional signals or so. Or def more of a power dynamic thing since joyce said she rarely had the ‘upper hand’ or whatever ,so letting someone know she was affected enough by them to need to ‘relieve’ herself would def be something they don’t want to give someone as ammo

  28. Architex
    Architex
    March 16, 2023 at 12:52 am | #

    Hot damn I could listen to Amber list these off all day I’m cracking the hell up over here

    • newlland(Henryvolt)
      newlland(Henryvolt)
      March 16, 2023 at 1:06 am | #

      She’s got a million of them.

      • Architex
        Architex
        March 16, 2023 at 2:28 am | #

        I’m sure of it too! Ammo for days.

  29. Bicycle Bill
    Bicycle Bill
    March 16, 2023 at 12:58 am | #

    Never realized that there were that many euphemisms out there for female masturbation. The only two I knew of were ‘jilling off’ and ‘playing the slots’.

    • Uly
      Uly
      March 16, 2023 at 1:57 am | #

      Anything can be a euphemism for anything given the right context and intonation.

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        March 16, 2023 at 2:04 am | #

        “The Secretary General of the United Nations.”
        “Nice.”

        • Clif
          Clif
          March 16, 2023 at 3:29 am | #

          Maybe, but Dave’s “Act with integrity” is hard to beat in context.

      • butting
        butting
        March 16, 2023 at 7:11 am | #

        I just today heard the SNL sketch from January where Aubrey Plaza asked “Is it a crime to want a man who can eat a plum to completion?” in a film noir parody and I may never recover.

        • Taffy
          Taffy
          March 16, 2023 at 12:52 pm | #

          I’ve never eaten a plum that didn’t have an absolutely disgusting texture, no matter how ripe and perfect I was assured it was by the nearest Person Who Knows About Plums.

          In other words, the exact opposite of performing oral. Maybe other people’s plums were actually edible, but the euphemism haunts me.

  30. Taffy
    Taffy
    March 16, 2023 at 1:02 am | #

    So, she admits he has charms. And that she cranked it before this encounter specifically to mitigate how bad she wants his body.

    • The Wellerman
      The Wellerman
      March 16, 2023 at 1:11 am | #

      yeah, only a matter of time before they knock boots for real. wonder if the next slipshine will come out same time as last year…

  31. MoreWLessG
    MoreWLessG
    March 16, 2023 at 1:10 am | #

    …It DOES look like that. Huh.

  32. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    March 16, 2023 at 1:24 am | #

    In retrospect, if you want to keep X secret, It would be better to not euphemismicly disclose that you’ve done X, secure in the knowledge that no one will figure out the euphemism, to people who know far more about X than you and have been euphemisming that they’ve been doing X for thousands of times longer than you have.

    • StClair
      StClair
      March 16, 2023 at 1:36 am | #

      Is there anyone in this comic who is any good at actually keeping secrets? (Dina, maybe.)

      • DailyBrad
        DailyBrad
        March 16, 2023 at 9:53 am | #

        So far, Asher’s been pretty good at keeping “possible accessory to murder” secret, but also, I don’t know if anyone in the cast actively cares about solving Blaine’s murder, because it’s Blaine.

  33. newlland(Henryvolt)
    newlland(Henryvolt)
    March 16, 2023 at 1:24 am | #

    “Flick the Bean”

    Is also a good one.

    • The Wellerman
      The Wellerman
      March 16, 2023 at 1:29 am | #

      ooo love that one.

      How about “operate my coin slot”? XD

    • Suet
      Suet
      March 16, 2023 at 2:40 am | #

      “Who’s flickling Leslie?’ 😳

      • Emperor Norton II
        Emperor Norton II
        March 16, 2023 at 3:49 pm | #

        Not Robin!

      • newlland(Henryvolt)
        newlland(Henryvolt)
        March 16, 2023 at 7:35 pm | #

        Oh you mean @LeslieBean4shizzle too me almost a whole day to get what you meant.

  34. huesatlight
    huesatlight
    March 16, 2023 at 1:39 am | #

    I don’t know if anyone has called it yet, but I think Joe is going to have performance anxiety. He is attracted to her physically, but he hasn’t actually be a tower of libido towards her since he before he fell for her. Maybe I’m just projecting an episode of Taxi onto them, but I can imagine her emotional and physical attraction to him being synched up more than his.

    • huesatlight
      huesatlight
      March 16, 2023 at 1:40 am | #

      ugh, multiple typos. “Louie and the Nice Girl” is the episode I’m thinking of.

      • Puppeteer Nessus
        Puppeteer Nessus
        March 16, 2023 at 7:01 am | #

        Here for the Taxi reference.

  35. ADLegend21
    ADLegend21
    March 16, 2023 at 2:02 am | #

    The Target self check out. As a former Target employee, that took me out hahaha

    • Maveric1984
      Maveric1984
      March 16, 2023 at 10:49 am | #

      My local Target doesn’t have self check out 🎯

  36. anonymsly
    anonymsly
    March 16, 2023 at 2:10 am | #

    Amber is occasionally tough for me, but dang if I am not 100% fully on board with Amber and Joyce being friends.

  37. AGV
    AGV
    March 16, 2023 at 2:16 am | #

    Don’t mind Joe, he’s just screaming internally

  38. Dday
    Dday
    March 16, 2023 at 2:17 am | #

    Sailors call it aqua dementia, the deep-down crazies, the wet willies, the screaming moist!

  39. Nevermaker
    Nevermaker
    March 16, 2023 at 2:29 am | #

    WELP I’ll never unsee that: now going to Walmart is gonna be REALLY WEIRD.

  40. Suet
    Suet
    March 16, 2023 at 2:38 am | #

    Sheesh, with all the euphemisms that’s churned out, this feels like a round of— JOE’S 6’3″?!

    Is a laid-back Joyce really an obvious sign that she… blasted the Baja?

  41. Yoder of Kansas
    Yoder of Kansas
    March 16, 2023 at 2:46 am | #

    So bets on if Joyce is lying about knowing all those euphemisms or if she’s telling the truth?

    • Chris
      Chris
      March 16, 2023 at 2:56 am | #

      I think she had put the context together, but didn’t really understand each individual euphemism.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        March 16, 2023 at 8:35 am | #

        Yeah, you don’t really have to have known all the euphemisms up front to recognize them when you hear them.

        Especially when it’s in reference to one you just used.

  42. vlademir1
    vlademir1
    March 16, 2023 at 3:28 am | #

    Amber, all I gotta say is “E Pluribus Anus”.

    Now I’m picturing Dean Pelton as a Walmart greeter…

  43. Carms
    Carms
    March 16, 2023 at 3:32 am | #

    This should all be very encouraging for Joe. Id be encouraged. And also take it a challenge. ‘oh, you hadta’ bulwark’ yourself against my ‘charms’ eh? Oh no I seem to have dropped my pencil over here, how clumsy, oh no it’s rolled under there. Ah good got it, just gotta streeeetch that out now mm yea’

  44. elebenty
    elebenty
    March 16, 2023 at 3:37 am | #

    Panel 4 is my new favorite Amber face.

  45. Acher4
    Acher4
    March 16, 2023 at 4:11 am | #

    What a glorious day 😛
    I learned so many new euphemisms today… from the comic and the comments!

    But seriously!
    Poking your Palpatine? rofl

    • Zaxares
      Zaxares
      March 16, 2023 at 6:30 am | #

      Yeah, if I was a girl, I’d cringe at the thought of calling it my Palpatine. XD

  46. Amós Batista
    Amós Batista
    March 16, 2023 at 4:27 am | #

    …
    Amber will replace Mike and will chaperone Joyce, won’t she?

    • Masumi
      Masumi
      March 16, 2023 at 7:18 am | #

      Maybe reverse chaperone

  47. Nono
    Nono
    March 16, 2023 at 4:47 am | #

    Also Amber’s said she’s 5’3″ in one strip, so Joe is a whole foot taller than his sister.

  48. Steamweed
    Steamweed
    March 16, 2023 at 5:06 am | #

    Some good titles!
    “Man-shaped tower of libido”
    “I have performed an elaborate procedure to bulwark me against your charms”

  49. Queezle
    Queezle
    March 16, 2023 at 5:55 am | #

    I wonder how Joe feels about this conversation

    • Queezle
      Queezle
      March 16, 2023 at 5:57 am | #

      Okay let’s roll the Gravatar roulette one more time

  50. Sombrero
    Sombrero
    March 16, 2023 at 6:03 am | #

    I still miss Mike from time to time, but on the other hand his loss is allowing new great things into DoA, like this delicious Amber 2.0.

  51. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    March 16, 2023 at 7:22 am | #

    the hubris of panel 2, tho

  52. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    March 16, 2023 at 7:27 am | #

    Can we adapt the term “quantum of solace” to Joyce’s situation?

  53. Yeet
    Yeet
    March 16, 2023 at 10:13 am | #

    I don’t think describing someone as a 6’3 man-shaped tower of libido sounds like your desires are very bulwarked, joyce
    poorly concealed, maybe

    • vulcanodon
      vulcanodon
      March 16, 2023 at 11:33 am | #

      I’m the most clueless dude on the planet, and even I would have picked up on that

  54. Plaaaa
    Plaaaa
    March 16, 2023 at 10:28 am | #

    She cast her body into the cragged shame pits of the lustwolves.

  55. Furie
    Furie
    March 16, 2023 at 10:46 am | #

    Can Joe, being Joe, hear this?

  56. Skeptible
    Skeptible
    March 16, 2023 at 11:11 am | #

    If paddling your canoe was the solution, was Joe the core problem?

  57. bagge
    bagge
    March 16, 2023 at 11:36 am | #

    She caught the gyrados?

    • RowenMorland
      RowenMorland
      March 16, 2023 at 12:02 pm | #

      I think that’s moved into euphemisms for phallic stuff. Rather than hand shandy.

      • GholaHalleck
        GholaHalleck
        March 16, 2023 at 9:42 pm | #

        Amie’ed the Cloyster.

    • Rose by Any Other Name
      Rose by Any Other Name
      March 16, 2023 at 7:52 pm | #

      More like the Cloyster…

      • bagge
        bagge
        March 17, 2023 at 4:41 am | #

        Hang on I gotta google something real quick…

        Yeah, cloyster is way better

  58. zee
    zee
    March 16, 2023 at 12:13 pm | #

    I’m just dying to see Joe’s reaction to hearing that Joyce is definitely so attracted to him she had to masturbate before seeing him

  59. UnDrewsual
    UnDrewsual
    March 16, 2023 at 12:38 pm | #

    Does no one say “pet the kitten” anymore?

    • Opus the Poet
      Opus the Poet
      March 16, 2023 at 9:10 pm | #

      I haven’t heard that one in ages.

  60. Dot
    Dot
    March 16, 2023 at 12:42 pm | #

    so what’s dorothy up to

  61. Nathan
    Nathan
    March 16, 2023 at 12:44 pm | #

    Willis can you tell us the “upsetting” one in the comments?

    • Adept
      Adept
      March 16, 2023 at 12:59 pm | #

      Don’t leave us hanging

      • HoopsieDaisy
        HoopsieDaisy
        March 16, 2023 at 2:30 pm | #

        I think that’s exactly Willis’ style, though. Expect to be left hanging, ha.

  62. Borg
    Borg
    March 16, 2023 at 1:09 pm | #

    I would argue that every successive euphemism used in short succession is worse than the last due to the stringing together, independent of the euphemism’s own merits, and thus a fifth euphemism is by definition very upsetting.

  63. Leadsynth
    Leadsynth
    March 16, 2023 at 1:12 pm | #

    “walk to biology together”

    Oh, so that’s what the kids are calling it these days?

    “take the scenic route”

    Oh, you want to dress up? Kinky.

  64. Alan in DC
    Alan in DC
    March 16, 2023 at 1:29 pm | #

    There’s a 1950s kiddie TV show reference that also sorks well:
    “Plunk Your Magic Twanger, Froggy!” (Google it)

    As for the rest, there is a massive Walmart here in Williamsburg Va, and I am never going to un-see that. Thanks Amber.

    • Daibhid C
      Daibhid C
      March 16, 2023 at 2:58 pm | #

      …Okay, but that’s got to be an intentional spoof, right? Like when everyone was saying there was an episode of the seventies UK kids’ show Rainbow that had them all talking about “plucking their twangers” and “playing with a friend’s balls”, and it turned out they’d actually done it for an ITV Christmas party and it was never intended for broadcast in any timeslot. It’s like that, right?

      Right?

      • Alan in DC
        Alan in DC
        March 16, 2023 at 5:53 pm | #

        This was in the 1950s and yes, it was an actual part of the broadcast. Most likely it was an inside joke with the production crew, but Froggy used to appear with a prominent “boing-ng” sound effect. A cool bit for the kids, and no doubt a fun wink-wink to the parents dropping in to see wgat was on TV.

        Google “Andy’s Gang” and watch an archival video.

  65. Daibhid C
    Daibhid C
    March 16, 2023 at 2:53 pm | #

    To paraphrase Turk Turkleton “Are you talking about … downtown Joyce Brown?”

  66. Shawn L.
    Shawn L.
    March 16, 2023 at 5:47 pm | #

    Given how frustrating using the non-metaphorical version can be, any sex euphemism involving the phrase “self checkout” is a buzzkill.

  67. eskimolos
    eskimolos
    March 16, 2023 at 6:13 pm | #

    Idk mang, being a female with innie reproductive organs and everything, I don’t personally think I’ve felt uninterested in sex after using the target self checkout. I can’t genuinely imagine it being a bulwark against finding someone attractive, indeed at least as far as I’m aware it tends to make everyone a lot -more- attractive. Like, you’ve stimulated one area yes, but what about another? Things happened on a place, what about in a place? And vice versa.

    • Rose by Any Other Name
      Rose by Any Other Name
      March 16, 2023 at 7:51 pm | #

      Yeah, I don’t follow the logic either.
      Also, according to science (or at least Sexplanations), Jilling off regularly makes sex with a partner feel better. So yeah, both Dorothy and Joyce thinking an orgasm would make Joyce less likely to fuck Joe means that neither of them did their research because the exact opposite is true.

    • huesatlight
      huesatlight
      March 16, 2023 at 9:51 pm | #

      Dorothy is not as knowledgeable as she thinks, and sometimes she accidentally misinforms people or gives them bad advice. Dumbing of Age includes Dorothy.

  68. Ray
    Ray
    March 16, 2023 at 6:21 pm | #

    This means nothing of how the narrative will turn out, but it’s been entertaining to watch Joe and Joyce have an approximate dynamic I know has lead into around 10 years of what’s evolved to biguys marriage (transition).

  69. Carms
    Carms
    March 16, 2023 at 6:51 pm | #

    I would also like the share that the Japanese word for masturbation (自慰) literally translates as ‘self consolation’ 😀
    Well one of the words. As you may well imagine, there are several.

  70. bwooom
    bwooom
    March 16, 2023 at 7:02 pm | #

    oh hey im finally caught up after 11 days straight of mainlining this comic 🙂 so glad to be here for joyce trying to avoid talking about jacking off

    • RassilonTDavros
      RassilonTDavros
      March 17, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

      I’m a little late, but welcome!

  71. David Alexander McDonald
    David Alexander McDonald
    March 16, 2023 at 7:56 pm | #

    She buttered her muffin.

  72. tunasammich
    tunasammich
    March 17, 2023 at 12:39 am | #

    *Sees a new comic well before 10pm*

    Shit, did Daylight Savings Time happen?

    Sincerely,

    an Arizonan

  73. Lysbeth
    Lysbeth
    March 19, 2023 at 8:18 am | #

    Dumbing of Age book 13: For even though you are a 6’3″ man-shaped tower of libido, I have performed an elaborate procedure to bulwark me against your charms

    Or, alternatively: you poked your palpatine

Who should be the default doodle for Book 14?

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May 3, 2025 - FCBD @ Laughing Ogre Comics in Columbus, Ohio

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