In cartoons, what is a cloud-like bubble with increasingly smaller circular bubbles?

'Thought bubbles' are 'speech bubbles', 'dialogue balloons' or 'word balloons'. These are graphic conventions used most commonly in comic books, comics and cartoons. It allow words to be understood as representing the thoughts of a given character. The balloons that indicate thoughts are referred to thought bubbles.

The 'thought bubbles' are used in two forms viz., the 'chain thought bubble' and the 'fuzzy thought bubble'. The 'chain thought bubble' is the almost universal symbol for thinking in cartoons. It consists of a large, cloud-like bubble containing the text of the thought, with a chain of increasingly smaller circular bubbles leading to the character.

Examples: 'Snoopy' is in the comic strips ''Peanuts'' by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. 'Garfield' is a fictional cat created by cartoonist Jim Davis. In both ''talks'' are used as 'thought bubbles' in circumstances when a character is gagged or otherwise unable to speak.

The 'fuzzy thought bubble' is roughly circular in shape but the edge of the bubble is a collection of spikes creating impression of fuzziness. These 'thought bubbles' do not use tails, and are placed near the character who is thinking. This has the advantage of reflecting the TV equivalent effects, something said with an echo.