Hardly a week goes by when we don't blow kisses at Twombly and Iqbal. As we did last week, we frequently discuss those cases and the ways in which they facilitate dismissal of deficiently pleaded complaints. Those cases comfort and embolden the defense bar. It's as if, upon seeing a threadbare compaint, we say, "Just wait until we introduce these plaintiff bozos to Twombly (gesturing with our left fist) and Iqbal (pumping our right fist)."

Perhaps such macho posturing is a teensy-weensy bit overblown. Truth be told, it is inherently comical for a lawyer to talk tough. There is a reason why there is no legal equivalent to Deadliest Catch or Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel. A briefbag and tasseled loafers don't scare anybody. And it has now become a venerable comedy trope for a self-deluded character to refer to his (sorry, but the doofus in question is invariably male) fists with vaguely inappropriate nicknames. It happened in Anchorman and it happened last week, to brilliant effect, in Modern Family. The feckless dad, played with typical genius by Ty Burrell, promises violence via his left fist, "England Dan," and right fist, "John Ford Coley." We agree with a local media outlet that it was the single funniest moment so far this television season.