There is a conundrum here, and there are reasons for going both ways. “Avant-garde dog” feels more elegant to me: Let the word be the word, and let readers figure out the pun themselves. The problem is, what if they don’t? Oh hey, here’s the problem: The standard sign is not “Beware of *guard* dog,” but simply “Beware of dog.” So “Beware of avant-garde dog” might not be enough to trigger the puns in the minds of readers. They might just think “Beware of dog, but avant-garde,” which is perhaps still weirdly amusing, but lacks the resolution of the pun. “Avant-guard dog” makes the pun unavoidable.
That settles it: I am now in favor of Coverly’s solution! I might also favor losing the “of”: Make it simply “BEWARE / AVANT-GUARD DOG.” That might be the most elegant solution.
Yes, I understand. You indicated this conundrum in your post, and I realized there's a logic to avant-guard. Maybe that should win the day. You captured my own feelings by speaking of elegance. Avant-garde just seems so much more elegant. Perhaps only for the elite few? I don't know. I guess it comes down to knowing your audience and making sure you are being accessible to them.
Since we're having fun over-analyzing this anyway, how about going the other way? Change it to
"Beware of
the Avant-garde dog"
That "the" emphasizes the dog's uniqueness, which is probably exactly what the dog wants. That's probably what he would want on the sign. :-) Though I guess that's refocusing the comic from the fun of the pun, to the fun of the dog.
Yeah, a few small tweaks would perfect this, but they are nit picky. It's still quite good as-is.
* "avant-garde" is better. "Beware of" already sufficiently emphasizes the joke.
* The way the brickwork just trails off into the bushes, with no division, draws the eye too much. Especially when the bricks are over-detailed and the bush/grass under detailed.
* The double wall (?) confuses the eye enough that I can't actually tell if the lower part is supposed to be a vertical wall, or a horizontal side walk in front of the brick wall.
* The fence/gate should be reversed. Beware of Dog signs are generally on the gate, to remind anyone about to open it. So the sign stays on the left, but that should be the gate, and we see the dog over the fence on the right. The additional height and fence top detail would emphasis that we are seeing over it, into the dog's bizarre private life. He's beat-poeting, even when no one is watching. Gotta respect his dedication.
Regarding your conflict, my own first thought was, why not "avant-garde"? To me, it would be a better fit.
There is a conundrum here, and there are reasons for going both ways. “Avant-garde dog” feels more elegant to me: Let the word be the word, and let readers figure out the pun themselves. The problem is, what if they don’t? Oh hey, here’s the problem: The standard sign is not “Beware of *guard* dog,” but simply “Beware of dog.” So “Beware of avant-garde dog” might not be enough to trigger the puns in the minds of readers. They might just think “Beware of dog, but avant-garde,” which is perhaps still weirdly amusing, but lacks the resolution of the pun. “Avant-guard dog” makes the pun unavoidable.
That settles it: I am now in favor of Coverly’s solution! I might also favor losing the “of”: Make it simply “BEWARE / AVANT-GUARD DOG.” That might be the most elegant solution.
Yes, I understand. You indicated this conundrum in your post, and I realized there's a logic to avant-guard. Maybe that should win the day. You captured my own feelings by speaking of elegance. Avant-garde just seems so much more elegant. Perhaps only for the elite few? I don't know. I guess it comes down to knowing your audience and making sure you are being accessible to them.
Since we're having fun over-analyzing this anyway, how about going the other way? Change it to
"Beware of
the Avant-garde dog"
That "the" emphasizes the dog's uniqueness, which is probably exactly what the dog wants. That's probably what he would want on the sign. :-) Though I guess that's refocusing the comic from the fun of the pun, to the fun of the dog.
6: No you aren't!
Yeah, a few small tweaks would perfect this, but they are nit picky. It's still quite good as-is.
* "avant-garde" is better. "Beware of" already sufficiently emphasizes the joke.
* The way the brickwork just trails off into the bushes, with no division, draws the eye too much. Especially when the bricks are over-detailed and the bush/grass under detailed.
* The double wall (?) confuses the eye enough that I can't actually tell if the lower part is supposed to be a vertical wall, or a horizontal side walk in front of the brick wall.
* The fence/gate should be reversed. Beware of Dog signs are generally on the gate, to remind anyone about to open it. So the sign stays on the left, but that should be the gate, and we see the dog over the fence on the right. The additional height and fence top detail would emphasis that we are seeing over it, into the dog's bizarre private life. He's beat-poeting, even when no one is watching. Gotta respect his dedication.