If anyone’s interested, here’s a great article from a couple years back about Moe and Calvin’s dynamic: https://kotaku.com/a-string-of-upsetting-calvin-hobbes-strips-told-a-bol-1777424191
It’s using two common phrases – “high standards” and “heights make me nauseous” – and combining them in an unexpected way that still conveys a message (Nancy doesn’t think she can meet the teacher’s standards). It’s really not that hard to follow.
Oh God Nancy’s gonna be trying to teach Poochie to do tricks for like 3 months aren’t we