nucular

A four-panel SMBC comic. A woman in glasses asks a man, "Doesn't it drive you nuts when people say 'nucular'?" He replies, "Why? It's a useful term." He then explains with mock-academic confidence that "Nuc" is a common abbreviation for "nuclear," and that suffixes of the type "-ule" or "ula" indicate smallness (as in "molecule" or "cellular"). Therefore, he argues, "nucular" is an appropriate descriptor of a small nuclear apparatus such as a warhead or submarine reactor core, which is why it is widely used by politicians and the general public. The woman, charmed despite herself, says, "I know you're lying but your lies are so wonderful." The man urges, "Choose. Choose beauty over truth." Votey (aftercomic): a close-up of the curly-haired man saying, "It's not true, but it's truthular," coining a faux-diminutive of "truth" that mirrors his earlier word-play.