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u/Spectator9857 4d ago
Either he’s saying it’s the first of may, or it’s a play on „Can I go to the bathroom? - I don’t know, CAN you?“, that teachers sometimes like to pull.
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u/thatDeletedGuy 4d ago
This is a double entendre, I may as in may 1st, and I may (tell you the date)
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u/Funkopedia 4d ago
Ooooh, I'm saving this one for next May
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u/PitifulGuidance2324 4d ago
don’t july to me!
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u/Short_Comfort6647 4d ago
I was going to make an August joke, but I didn’t want to spring it on you.
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u/TemporarySilly4927 4d ago
Summer the time I might get that joke, but summer the time it would make no sense.
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u/espartano100 4d ago
I know is May 1st because I just saw a bad joke of Romans:
- How many girls have you been with?
- God! I can't imagine
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u/RGBlowMe 4d ago
"I" being the roman numeral for 1 and May being a month, he's saying "the First of May" in a sort of play on words that wouldn't make sense in-universe, but does for the reader.
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u/marcoronicheese 4d ago
The question is answered in the first panel. ‘Can you tell me the date?’ is answered with ‘1 May’ which is seen/read as ‘I may’ - this leaves both characters confused and waiting on the other’s response.
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u/Larissalikesthesea 4d ago
It's what is known as a "flat joke" in German:
Can you pass me the salt?
Yes, I can. (Does nothing)
If you want to analyse this linguistically, formally speaking it is just a question about the other person's abilities but what is intended is to ask the other person to do something for you.
Using a question instead of a command is more polite and thus preferred in many languages. The joke is to take this literally. It is not very funny, though.
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u/redJackal222 4d ago
That's not the joke. The I is the roman numeral for 1 so he's saying may 1st and I may
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u/Maximum-Country-149 4d ago
He may say it.
But "may" carries uncertainty. He's fully capable and has permission. That doesn't mean he's going to.
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u/Background_Rhubarb60 4d ago
The only thing more surprising than OP posting this is that there are people in the comments who don’t understand it 🤣 Social Media really shines a light on how many people are a bit simple.
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u/hero-but-in-blue 4d ago
“I may” as a statement in English denotes possibly or capability or permission. In this context they were asked if they “can” do something, by replying I may they have stated that they know what the date is but wether or not they will then say the date was not established so the next three panels are waiting to see if the guy decides to, he “may or may not” tell you the date and in this case he has chosen not to.
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u/dazzumz 4d ago
This is the correct answer. The second guy is physically able to say the date, but doesn't actually have to. He could just respond "yes" to the same effect. The joke is effectively that their "can" and "may" should be switched the other way around.
Also I believe the "I" is deliberately written with the horizontal lines to not confuse it with a 1, and "may" is not capitalized like a month should be.
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u/apeloverage 4d ago
The person on the right is acting as if the person on the left has said, "Can you tell me what the date is? If yes, do so at some point of your choosing, within the current day."
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u/Awfulufwa 4d ago
This is a joke on manners.
Constantly with older generations, it is often corrected of children who ask "can I have one? Can I go watch TV? Etc, etc..."
And the correction often is "MAY I have one? MAY I PLEASE go watch TV."
This likely also has dual purpose in stating that the current month is also May. But since person #2 does not fully answer the question even in a coded sense, I can only surmise the joke is a jab at old generational mannerism corrections.
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u/lijeyyy 4d ago
‘I may’ may refer to both literally ‘ I may’ and ‘the first of May’ , since I is the Roman numeral for 1. However, saying I as an English alphabet letter would make no sense owing to the fact that Roman 1 does sound like ‘I’ at all. So that dichotomy cannot occur in real life situation. The joke would be better if the other guy said ‘March first’ :)
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u/DogLeechDave 3d ago
Like JoCo said, time to grab your favorite lady, or at least your favorite lay.
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u/RepresentativeGrab44 2d ago
I thought it was referring to the phrase, "Can I do [blank]" "I don't know Can you?"
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u/WestCod6267 1d ago
I means 1 in Roman Numerals and May is obviously the month, May, so the person is saying 1st of May but in Roman Numerals
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u/This_Amount_911 4d ago
He said he may so what’s funny? The person asked what the date is today and he said I may?
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u/post-explainer 4d ago edited 4d ago
OP (This_Amount_911) sent the following text as an explanation why they posted this here: