I was puzzled by Pearls Before Swine‘s strip for Jan. 9, 2026:

So I asked Claude:

Me: What is this Pearls Before Swine strip supposed to play on? Is the “Nullartikel” more popular in AmE than on BrE, to the point that some people don’t use an article when they should?

Claude: This comic strip is playing on a linguistic difference between British and American English regarding article usage with certain institutions.

In British English, it’s standard to drop the definite article “the” before certain institutions when referring to someone’s status or relationship with them. For example:

  • “in hospital” (not “in the hospital”)
  • “at university” (not “at the university”)
  • “at school” (not “at the school”)

In American English, the article “the” is typically retained in these contexts: “in the hospital,” “at the university.”

The joke works because:

  1. The character asks “British Bob” about his siblings
  2. Bob uses British constructions: “in hospital” and “at university”
  3. This prompts the question about whether there’s “a shortage of the word ‘the’ in Britain”
  4. The punchline humorously suggests British people “invented the language” so they can use it however they want, and if Americans need the article “the,” they should go get it themselves (“at store” – deliberately omitting “the” for comedic effect)

So yes, you’re correct that this is about the “zero article” (Nullartikel) being more common in British English in these specific institutional contexts, though it’s not that British speakers are making an error – it’s simply a systematic difference between the two varieties of English.

Me: Oh, so it’s the other way (a)round! It’s in Britain that the zero article is used more!

Claude: Yes, exactly! You’ve got it now – it’s the opposite of what you initially thought.

British English uses the zero article (no article) more frequently in these institutional contexts:

  • in hospital
  • at university
  • go to school

American English retains the definite article “the”:

  • in the hospital
  • at the university
  • go to the school

So the joke is that the American character is confused by British Bob’s seemingly “missing” articles, asking if there’s a shortage of the word “the” in Britain. British Bob’s retort is essentially “We invented English, so we can do what we want with it!”

The comic then ironically mirrors this British usage in the final panel with “at store” (instead of “at the store”), which isn’t actually standard in either variety – it’s just emphasizing the point humorously.

And yes, I noticed you wrote “(a)round” – very clever! That’s exactly the kind of optional article usage difference we’re talking about, though in that particular case both “round” and “around” are acceptable in both varieties.