Refers to an impromptu pause in labors that involve old newspapers --- such as cleanup or padding --- to read cartoons that you happen across as you're separating the leaves of the journals prior to using the paper sheets for their intended purpose in your task.
My boss takes a dim view of comics delays, so I just save out any newspaper-sheets that have cartoons on them, and then peruse said funnies during my coffee breaks.
by QuacksO March 25, 2019