2010-07-18
Explanation
This comic depicts the internal struggle of a grammar-obsessed nerd during a romantic encounter. A woman says "Ooh... you took off your shirt. How sensoral." The man's thought bubble reveals his agonized inner monologue: "Wrong word! She means sensual! I should-- NO! Don't correct her! You have a chance at sex!" He is desperately trying to suppress his compulsive need to correct her vocabulary.
The situation escalates as the woman says "Mmm... your lips are so erratic" (meaning "erotic"), and the man's thoughts scream "Erotic! Erotic! No! Say nothing! Ignore it!" But when she says "I love a man whom's as smart as you" -- using the hypercorrect and incorrect "whom's" -- the man finally snaps, screaming "AAAH! AAAAH! AAAAH!" aloud. The misuse of "whom" (a common error where people use "whom" instead of "who" to sound more educated) was apparently the bridge too far for his grammar-nerd sensibilities.
The final panel has the woman saying "I love sleeping with nerds," suggesting she may be doing this deliberately to torment him -- or at least that she finds his tortured reactions endearing. The votey panel continues the wordplay theme with the woman saying "Now let's literally get down to business," using another word ("literally") that grammar pedants love to argue about, implying the torment will continue indefinitely.