Facebook C.E.O. and robot

[Ostap]

Hello,
Commenting on Facebook's stock price fall, comedian Stephen Colbert said this: "It was an especially rough day for Facebook C.E.O. and robot failing to execute the smile protocol, Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook's stock free-fall caused Zuckerberg's wealth to plunge by $31 billion."
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It seems like the phrase "Facebook C.E.O. and robot" serves as a title for "Mark Zuckerberg", and that's the reason why there's no definite article before the countable noun "robot". And the participial phrase "failing to execute the smile protocol" breaks in between the title and the name. Is my guess correct?

 

[probus]

No. The joke is that Zuck is two things:

1 CEO of Facebook

and

2 a robot that cannot smile because it lacks emotions.

It is nearly impossible to crack jokes or understand jokes in a language that is not your mother tongue.

 

[Ostap]

So maybe then the entire phrase "Facebook C.E.O. and robot failing to execute the smile protocol" acts as a title to "Mark Zuckerberg". Otherwise, how would you explain the absence of an article?
This phrase by oneself without an article would be incorrect, right? "Facebook C.E.O. and robot failing to execute the smile protocol."

 

[probus]

No article is needed.

Nor is any explanation needed. Stephen Colbert is a native speaker of English. You should take it for granted that everything he says is perfectly correct, in the same way that you could never make a mistake in Russian.

 

[jutfrank]

So maybe then the entire phrase "Facebook C.E.O. and robot failing to execute the smile protocol" acts as a title to "Mark Zuckerberg"."

Yes, that's it.

 

[Ostap]

No article is needed.

Nor is any explanation needed. Stephen Colbert is a native speaker of English. You should take it for granted that everything he says is perfectly correct, in the same way that you could never make a mistake in Russian.

"Facebook C.E.O. and robot failing to execute the smile protocol, Mark Zuckerberg."
If we reverse these two parts like this:
"Mark Zuckerberg is the Facebook C.E.O. and robot failing to execute the smile protocol."
Then the article would be required.

That's what I originally asked to confirm - that only because the highlighted part served as a title, it didn't require an article.

 

[probus]

That's not the reason. It has nothing to do with titles.

 

[Ostap]

That's not the reason. It has nothing to do with titles.

Then, what is? Two countable nouns in singular without an article: "Facebook C.E.O. and robot."

 

[probus]

That is how we say it. There is no other reason. It's easy to make similar examples.

John is a clown and juggler.

Amy plays the trumpet and trombone.

Pete is the chief cook and bottle washer.

 

[Tdol]

Put a comma before and, to show where the comedian is adding his stuff.

 

[Ostap]

Put a comma before and, to show where the comedian is adding his stuff.

Could you please explain your point?

 

[Skrej]

No. The joke is that Zuck is two things:

2 a robot that cannot smile because it lacks emotions.

I don't think it's that said robot cannot smile, it's just that the robot failed to run the code that mimics a human smile. It's another reference to being robotic and computer-based. Like all computers, programs sometimes crash or fail to load correctly.

It is however, a jibe at Zuckerberg as lacking emotion.