etymology-2
Original: etymology-2 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Caption (top): SOMETIMES I LEARN AN ETYMOLOGY FUN FACT AND REALIZE IT COULD BE WHAT GETS ME KILLED
A man with flame-like (red) hair stands in an outdoor landscape, gesturing as he speaks to a figure off-panel.
Man: OKAY, BUT STRICTLY SPEAKING THIS POPULATION WASN'T "DECIMATED" BY WAR, BECAUSE THAT IMPLIES ONLY A 10% RATE OF DEATH.
Votey:
A close-up of a face (eyes closed, frowning) listening with growing irritation.
Man (off-panel, speaking): OH WAIT, I SEE WHY YOU'RE MAD. TECHNICALLY YOU COULD HAVE REPEATED DECIMATIONS, SO IT'D BE BETTER TO SAY THEY WEREN'T ONLY DECIMATED.
Caption (top): SOMETIMES I LEARN AN ETYMOLOGY FUN FACT AND REALIZE IT COULD BE WHAT GETS ME KILLED
A man with flame-like (red) hair stands in an outdoor landscape, gesturing as he speaks to a figure off-panel.
Man: OKAY, BUT STRICTLY SPEAKING THIS POPULATION WASN'T "DECIMATED" BY WAR, BECAUSE THAT IMPLIES ONLY A 10% RATE OF DEATH.
Votey:
A close-up of a face (eyes closed, frowning) listening with growing irritation.
Man (off-panel, speaking): OH WAIT, I SEE WHY YOU'RE MAD. TECHNICALLY YOU COULD HAVE REPEATED DECIMATIONS, SO IT'D BE BETTER TO SAY THEY WEREN'T ONLY DECIMATED.
Alt text
A two-part SMBC comic. Main panel: a top caption reads "Sometimes I learn an etymology fun fact and realize it could be what gets me killed." A man with flame-like red hair stands in an outdoor landscape, gesturing as he lectures someone off-panel: "Okay, but strictly speaking this population wasn't 'decimated' by war, because that implies only a 10% rate of death." Votey (aftercomic): a close-up of an irritated face with eyes closed and a frown, as the man keeps digging in off-panel: "Oh wait, I see why you're mad. Technically you could have repeated decimations, so it'd be better to say they weren't ONLY decimated." The joke: pedantically correcting someone's use of 'decimated' (originally meaning to kill 1 in 10) in a way that only makes the listener angrier.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.