8 Far Side Comics That Prove It Has A Secret Catchphrase

Published Oct 9, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words. Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II. Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno. For hardcore fans of Gary Larson's The Far Side, there are plenty of surprises hiding in the strip's fifteen-year run. From Larson's repeating character 'Al' who owns many of the strip's most disastrous businesses, to the accidentally inappropriate image Larson unknowingly drew for the cover of In Search Of The Far Side. Another 'secret' waiting to be found is the fact that Larson trialed a recurring catchphrase for his comic. While mostly appearing in early strips, this catchphrase can be found across Far Side history. The catchphrase in question is the exclamation "Egad!", with Larson's diverse cast of scientists, bugs, medieval knights and grotesques all uttering the archaic expression of surprise and dismay. Boomerang | Published 12 January 1980 Larson has a deep love of goofy scientists, often treating the smartest people around as akin to silly children. That's certainly the case here, as three scientists desperately try to rid themselves of a boomerang, their injuries showing that they've thrown it away again and again to no avail. Larson's characteristic art style isn't formalized yet, but his art is still all in service of the gag, with each of the characters having not just one but multiple bumps on the head from trying the same method again and again. In the collection of comics above, Larson doubles, triples and quadruples down on depicting scientists as big goofs. Far from being offended, scientists from many different disciplines are among The Far Side's biggest fans, with Natural History Magazine naming Larson "the unofficial cartoonist laureate of the scientific community." Pet Snake | Published 1 January 1980 In one of the earliest Far Side comics, Larson draws two hideous characters exclaiming over the looks of an innocent-looking snake. It's apparent to any fan of the comic that Larson is still coming into his characteristic style, with a surprising amount of detail for his human characters. One of The Far Side's recurring themes is comparing humans to animals, often with the conclusion that there's a lot less of a difference than readers might assume. A committed environmentalist, Larson mostly kept politics out of The Far Side, with the exception of a deep conservationist streak that often emphasizes humanity's callousness to the animal kingdom - in this case, two humans exclaiming over an animal's ugliness without considering they may not be beauty queens themselves. It's this kind of strip that saw Gary Larson accused of liking animals more than humans. In a 1986 interview with 20/20, the theory was put to Larson, who responded that while it wasn't true, "I never met a red setter I didn't like." Willard | Published 6 August 1986 In this strip, a woman's husband arrives home while she's busy cheating on him, leaving her scrambling to get her lover out the door before they're caught. Of course, this being the world of The Far Side, her husband is one of Larson's many rhinoceros characters. Thankfully (at least for the cheating wife), that's to her advantage, since the African mammal's senses didn't exactly evolve to root out marital issues. Larson often drops these nature facts into his gags, having animals display human thought processes while keeping their characteristic animal instincts. Sled | Published 27 March 1980 In this strip, the driver of a vehicle finds their conveyance slowing to a halt due to an inconvenient flat. The twist is that there are no tires on their ride, and it's actually one of their sled dogs that has inexplicably deflated. This strip is interesting in showing how Larson originally intended to use "Egad!" - it's a choice that seems to emerge from the franchise deliberately using a repeating refrain, even though it doesn't perfectly fit the character or situation. Ultimately, while it's fun to see Larson trying out the phrase, this strip is a good example of why The Far Side ultimately didn't need it in the long run. Evil Butterfly Collector | Published 23 December 1987 Some Far Side comics are goofy, some are dark, and some are simply surreal. In this strip, two butterfly collectors encounter the 'evil' Professor DeArmond. However, while dressed in black and flashing an evil grin, DeArmond isn't actually "evil," he's just pretty evil for a butterfly collector. Larson's gag prompts the reader to imagine what butterfly collectors in particular would consider evil. Does DeArmond steal specimens from other lepidopterists, does he use particularly inhumane killing jars, or is it literally just the black clothing and the smile? Larson loves butterfly comics, often depicting the tiny insects as a serious threat to the people who want to collect them - that's when butterfly collectors aren't being a serious threat to each other. Gary Larson Experimented With an Alternative A pause in our list to look at the (very slight) "Egad!" alternative that Larson also tried out. While Larson tried out and gave up on "Egad!" being the strip's unofficial catchphrase, he also experimented with "Gad!" in later Far Side entries. In these strips, the alt catchphrase is used in reference to creepy portraits, magic gone wrong, and of course more bugs. Larson was held to a surprisingly strict set of editorial guidelines designed to make the strip capable of syndication in newspapers across the country. It makes sense that Larson wanted to experiment with some kind of curse word stand-in, but ultimately he appears to have realized what fans already know - with his incredible inventiveness and gift with language, he simply doesn't need one. Now, onto our final three! Elephant | Published 22 September 1981 In a classic 'reversing priorities' gag, an aging elephant is worried about losing wrinkles rather than gaining them. She's not necessarily wrong to worry - elephant skin wrinkles help them to retain water and keep cool in hot environments, with dried mud forming a barrier against parasites. Of course, with the elephant couple seemingly living in a regular suburban house, her worries might not be quite as justified as they seem. Larson rarely includes a detail that isn't vital to the joke, but the husband elephant's tiny sleep cap is a great side gag. Apple | Published 18 December 1982 In another comic showing human behavior from an animal perspective, two worms are dismayed to see their relative consumed along with a healthy chunk of apple. To be fair to the bugs, this is probably the most justifiable cry of "Egad!" on this list - and one that's likely to be echoed by the human in question when he eventually looks down. Possum Family | Published 5 September 1984 Larson loves the theme of annoying neighbors, especially when it's animals bugging each other. In this case, a group of possums fake death not to dissuade a predator, but to dodge some irritating acquaintances. Given the 'weird' possums in question are surely just as familiar with 'playing possum,' it's up for debate just how effective this technique is likely to be. In its early days, The Far Side experimented with using the exclamation "Egad!" as a catchphrase - however, Larson's jokes are so creative and unique, ultimately he didn't need a single expression to tie the comic together. Writer Gary Larson Colorist Gary Larson