ex-2
Explanation
This comic plays on the linguistic prefix "ex-" and its multiple meanings. Someone says they are saying the person is "really good," and the conversation turns to the word "discovery." One character pedantically explains that "discovery" contains the prefix "ex-" (from Latin, meaning "out of" or "from"), and lists examples of "ex-" words: there are "exaggerating" forms of words we can add to English. Another character tells them to stop exaggerating, which is itself an "ex-" word.
The deeper joke comes in the final panels referencing the Exodus -- "of course, before the Hebrews left Egypt, they had to get a ruling on Exodus" -- wordplay on how "Exodus" literally contains "ex-" (out) and the comic imagines it as a bureaucratic process of adding the prefix. The comic ends with someone noting their daughter "doesn't have demons possessing her" and another responding "We're summoning the exorcist" -- yet another "ex-" word.
The humor is rooted in classic SMBC wordplay and linguistic nerdery. The comic builds a cascading series of "ex-" prefix jokes, each one more absurd than the last, moving from etymology to Biblical history to the supernatural. It rewards readers who enjoy language humor and the kind of pedantic wordplay that treats etymology as a source of comedy rather than dry scholarship.