silver-lining
Original: silver-lining on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Two people lie on their backs on a grassy hillside, looking up at the sky, talking.
Panel 1:
Person 1: They say every cloud has a silver lining.
Person 2: That's because of all the mercury pollution.
Panel 2:
Person 1: Your generation will probably need to do something.
Panel 3:
Person 1: I thought that was a metaphor.
Person 2: Used to be. Environmental damage has ruined a lot of our old sayings.
Panel 4:
Person 2: We used to say "there are plenty of fish in the sea."
Person 1: Meaning?
Votey:
A person leans in close to another's face.
Speaker (in speech bubble): It's getting harder and harder for birds of a feather to flock together.
Panel 1:
Person 1: They say every cloud has a silver lining.
Person 2: That's because of all the mercury pollution.
Panel 2:
Person 1: Your generation will probably need to do something.
Panel 3:
Person 1: I thought that was a metaphor.
Person 2: Used to be. Environmental damage has ruined a lot of our old sayings.
Panel 4:
Person 2: We used to say "there are plenty of fish in the sea."
Person 1: Meaning?
Votey:
A person leans in close to another's face.
Speaker (in speech bubble): It's getting harder and harder for birds of a feather to flock together.
Alt text
A four-panel SMBC comic. Two people lie on their backs on a grassy hill, gazing at a cloudy sky as they chat. One says, "They say every cloud has a silver lining," and the other replies, "That's because of all the mercury pollution." The first muses, "Your generation will probably need to do something"; then adds, "I thought that was a metaphor." The other explains, "Used to be. Environmental damage has ruined a lot of our old sayings," offering an example: "We used to say 'there are plenty of fish in the sea.'" The joke turns familiar comforting idioms literal and grim under environmental collapse. Votey: a close-up of one person leaning into another's face, saying, "It's getting harder and harder for birds of a feather to flock together" — another idiom undercut by ecological decline.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.