Original artwork, not a still
Security is a thumb and a blanket.
— Peanuts · 1950
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It reduces the whole of Linus's character to two objects: the wise boy who quotes scripture and still cannot let go of a blanket. Schulz turned a nursery habit into a symbol that every adult recognises, and the term now covers anything, from a childhood toy to a job, that people cling to for reassurance. Quoted as a one-line definition of comfort.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for PeanutsShow the scene
Linus van Pelt arrived in Peanuts on 19 September 1952, and his blue blanket followed in 1954, the same year he spoke his first words. Charles Schulz took the idea from watching his first three children drag blankets around. By 1956 Linus was calling it his "security and happiness blanket" in the strip, as reprinted in Good Grief, More Peanuts, and the phrase "security blanket" went on to enter the dictionary. Linus is also the strip's thumb-sucker, so the pairing of thumb and blanket is his permanent comfort kit, which other children mock and which he defends with a philosopher's dignity. The exact wording here was not found as dialogue in the strip lists checked.
Sources (3)
- Wikipedia: Linus van PeltLead; PersonalityReference checked
- Wikipedia: PeanutsCharacters; LinusReference checked
- Wikipedia: Security blanketIn popular cultureReference checked
Context reviewed
