(Strip Number 7141, Original Publication Date, 14 August 1983)
Panel 1: We begin the strip with a panel of the smacky, messy, gobbly eating that so disgusts
trumanf.Panel 2: Having eaten his fill of Elly's questionable cooking, Mike asks if he can leave the table.
Panel 3: John tells Elly that that was a delicious supper. If he'd stopped there, we'd all be better off but our boy is sort of stupid.
Panel 4: He proves this by pointing out that he actually complimented her cooking. This compliment confuses her.
Panel 5: Y'see, it seems to have gotten back to him that he's thought of as disliking her indigestible slop and made noise about her just throwing it together; this is why he rattles on all defensively about how she can't tell him that he doesn't notice how hard she works on a meal. His praise makes her smile.
Panel 6: He does notice.
Panel 7: As a matter of fact, he always makes a point of saying what a great meal she makes.
Panel 8: His telling her that he compliments her cooking no matter how bad it is replaces her smile with a baffled frown.
Summary: Given that he makes a back-handed compliment that implies that he thinks she's lazy a few days from now, you want to tell him to stop saying words.
