Any Preconceived Notions You’d Like to Spout Off About?


preconceived notions

There’s that moment when you’re writing a cartoon that you just know you have the caption right. It can take a while, and often it means pruning or changing just one word – but you can feel when you have it.

For me, this cartoon hinges almost completely on the word “spout.” Once I had “spout” I knew this cartoon was good to go.

Here’s some of the other endings I’d considered:

  • “…talk to you about.” (Too weak.)
  • “…go on and on about.” (Too long.)
  • “…air.” (Too conciliatory.)
  • “…foist on you.” (Clumsy, but let’s remember to use “foist” somewhere later.)
  • “…spew.” (Kind of icky.)

See what I mean? “Spout” is the answer.

2 Comments ▼

Mark Anderson Mark Anderson's cartoons appear in publications including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. His business cartoons are available for licensing at his website, Andertoons.com.

2 Reactions
  1. Such a play on words. I do see where you’re coming from. Spout is really the right word for it.

  2. Spout’s a really good fit! Second best for me would have been “foist on you”. I like that. 🙂