Latin
Explanation
The Joke
The comic shows a young person with blue hair speaking to their parents (shown from behind, wearing glasses). The character nervously says: "Uh, I meant... 'bi' as in, the plural of bus. I am several buses." The caption below reads: "Coming out to my parents did not go as planned."
The joke is that the character was trying to come out as bisexual to their parents, but panicked mid-conversation and instead claimed that "bi" meant they were the plural of "bus" -- that is, multiple buses. This is a play on the Latin plural: the word "bus" comes from the Latin dative/ablative plural suffix "-ibus" (as in "omnibus"), so one might humorously argue that "bi" is a Latin-inflected plural of "bus."
The absurdity of claiming to be "several buses" as a preferable alternative to coming out highlights both the anxiety of the coming-out experience and the ridiculous lengths people will go to when panicking in an awkward conversation.
The Humor
The comedy works through the contrast between the serious emotional weight of coming out and the utterly absurd deflection. The character's panic is so intense that they would rather claim to be multiple vehicles than continue the conversation about their sexuality. The deadpan delivery of "I am several buses" -- stated as a factual declaration -- elevates the absurdity.
The Latin wordplay adds an intellectual layer typical of SMBC. While "bi" as a prefix meaning "two" does have Latin roots, the claim that it functions as a plural of "bus" is entertainingly wrong in a way that sounds just plausible enough to be funny. The parents' visible confusion (shown through their body language) and the caption's rueful tone complete the joke by grounding the absurdity in a relatable human experience -- the gap between how you plan a difficult conversation and how it actually goes.
References
- The word "bus" is actually derived from "omnibus," a Latin word meaning "for all" (dative plural of "omnis"). The "-bus" ending is indeed a Latin plural suffix, though "bi" is not actually the plural of "bus" in any language.
- The "bi" prefix comes from Latin "bis" (twice) or "bini" (two by two), which is the actual etymological root of "bisexual."
- Coming-out narratives are a significant cultural touchstone in LGBTQ+ discourse, and the comic gently parodies the anxiety surrounding these conversations.