2013-02-11
Explanation
This comic is titled "Valentine'''s Tip: Hide Your True Feelings With Grammar." It shows a woman giving a heart-shaped Valentine to another woman and saying "I want you more, then all the riches in the world!" The recipient responds with a touched "Awww..."
The joke hinges on the difference between "then" and "than." The speaker uses "then" (a word indicating sequence in time) instead of "than" (a word used for comparison). If she had said "I want you more THAN all the riches in the world," it would be a sincere romantic declaration meaning she values the other person above all wealth. But by saying "more, THEN all the riches," the sentence actually means "I want you more" (as a standalone statement with a comma pause) "then all the riches in the world" -- meaning she wants the person first, and after that she also wants all the riches. So the grammatical error transforms a selfless romantic sentiment into a greedy one.
The votey panel has the recipient catching on, saying "You'''re lying to me with homophones!" The speaker gleefully responds "I... know!" This confirms the deception was intentional -- she deliberately exploited the then/than homophone to say something that sounds romantic but actually reveals materialistic priorities.