• smokinliver
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    5 months ago

    What does served mean in this context?

    As a non-native speaker I don’t quite get the joke I’m afraid (I would love to laugh about it though).

    • Mojave@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      This comic is from 2006 (old and not as funny now).

      When you get sued in America, you get “served” your legal documents saying that you are getting sued.

      In 2006 it was also slang. It’s similar to “you got dunked on” or “you got owned”. Kids would say it when you destroy someone at something, usually competitively.

    • subignition@fedia.io
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      5 months ago

      “service of legal process” is the formal delivery of court papers to someone involved in a lawsuit by a neutral third party (a process server). The comic depicts an initial service of process, which is when the defendant typically first learns about the lawsuit.

      So it’s a joke playing off of “getting served” legal papers, combined with the slang Mojave discussed in detail in another reply.