Explain the Joke

More Puns Explained

Posted on November 23, 2015 by stfleming

In my previous posting I showed a picture of some puns. Here I continue to explain the puns.

The other day I held the door open for a clown. It was a nice jester.
A clown and a jester are very similar characters.
“Jester” sounds like “gesture.”
When you do something nice for someone it is a nice gesture.
This pun is funny because it is a nice gesture to hold the door open and the clown (the jester) was nice. Double meaning and similar words make for a good pun!!

Pasteurize
Pasteurize sounds like “past your eyes.” If something is past your eyes it is too far to see. (Pasteurize really means to heat something in order to kill the bacteria.)

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, pun | Tagged clown, ELL, English, ESL, funny, gesture, humor, pasteurize, pun, reading, writing | Leave a comment

Puns

Posted on November 23, 2015 by stfleming

According to the Urban Dictionary, a pun is “a play on words, usually used for comic reception,” that is, used to make people laugh or groan. A friend sent me this picture on Facebook (it is not mine and I do now know where it comes from) and it is a good example of some puns:

Let me explain a bit:

A coffee cup is called a mug. To mug someone is to assault them with with the intent to rob them. This is a pun because it plays with the word mug in reference to stealing a coffee cup, a mug.

Click on the picture to read more mugs (and I will continue to explain the puns in this picture this week).

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, pun | Tagged coffee, ELL, English, ESL, funny, humor, mug, mugging, pun, reading, writing | Leave a comment

Attorney Wear

Posted on November 20, 2015 by stfleming

Q: What do lawyers wear to court?
A: Lawsuits!

Explanation: There are many, many lawyer jokes; this is just one example.

Lawyers go to court to represent plaintiffs (civil court), defendants (civil court and criminal court) and the prosecution (criminal court). When lawyers go to court they need to wear nice clothing- usually they wear a suit because it is a formal situation.

A lawsuit is when one party sues another in court.

This joke plays with the words suit and lawsuit: the idea that a lawyer who works with the law would wear a law-suit.

Here is one of my favorite law videos: How a bill becomes a law.

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged court, defendant, ELL, English, ESL, funny, humor, joke, jokes, judge, kids, kids jokes, law, lawsuit, lawyer, plantiff, prosecution, reading, Schoolhouse Rock, teacher, writing | Leave a comment

Polished Bread

Posted on November 18, 2015 by stfleming

Q: What happens if you eat yeast and shoe polish?
A: Every morning you will rise and shine!

Explanation: Yeast is the ingredient in bread that makes it rise; if there is no yeast or the yeast is dead you will get flat bread or flatbreads.

Shoe polish is the paste that you put on your shoes with a rag and then polish with a brush to make your shoes shine.

When you put yeast (makes bread rise) and shoe polish (to shine your shoes) together you “rise and shine.” “Rise and shine” is a common phrase in many homes in the United States. It is often used in the morning or when you need to wake someone up. YouTube is full of motivational videos that use the phrase “rise and shine.” Here is one way Disney used “rise and shine” …

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged bread, Disney, ELL, English, ESL, flatbreads, funny, humor, jokes, kids, kids jokes, morning, reading, rise and shine, shoe polish, writing, yeast | Leave a comment

Incognito

Posted on November 11, 2015 by stfleming

Q: What do you call a fake noodle?
A: An Impasta!

Explanation: Noodles, such as spaghetti noodles, can be called pasta.
An imposter is a person who pretends to be someone else.

So, a fake noodle is an “impasta” which sounds like a combination of imposter and pasta… and that is what makes this joke funny.

Did you see the movie The Imposter? Here is the trailer:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged ELL, English, ESL, food, funny, humor, imposter, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, noodle, pasta, reading, spaghetti, writing | Leave a comment

National Cat Day

Posted on October 29, 2015 by stfleming

Q: What is it called when a cat wins a dog show?
A: A CAT-HAS-TROPHY!

Explanation: Today in the United States is National Cat Day! so a cat joke seemed appropriate.

When someone (or some animal!?!) wins a contest like a dog show that person often wins a trophy. When something bad happens it is called a catastrophe or a disaster.

This joke plays with the word catastrophe and breaks it into parts: cat-has-trophy- which sounds a lot like catastrophe. Personally, I think it would be great if a cat won a dog show! Have a great National Cat Day!

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged cat, cat video, Catastrophe, Dog show, ELL, English, ESL, food, funny, humor, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, National Cat Day, reading, sports, Trophy, writing | Leave a comment

Please sir, I want some more

Posted on October 21, 2015 by stfleming

Q: Did you hear about the hungry clock?
A: It went back four seconds!

Explanation: To “go back for seconds” means to serve yourself more food from the kitchen, the serving dishes or perhaps the buffet line. And you only “go back for seconds” if you are hungry. The word ‘four’ (4) sounds the same as ‘for.’

A clock tells time by using hours, minutes and seconds. In the joke, ‘seconds’ has two meanings: to go back in time four seconds and to go back for a second helping of food… and that’s what makes this joke funny.

Here is a classic scene from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens when Oliver went back for seconds:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged Charles Dickens, clock, ELL, English, ESL, food, for, four, funny, go back for seconds, humor, hungry, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, Oliver Twist, reading, seconds, serving dishes, teacher, time, writing | Leave a comment

Off Key

Posted on October 20, 2015 by stfleming

Q: What’s the difference between a guitar and a fish?
A: You can’t tuna fish!

Explanation: Tuna fish? No, tune – a – fish. You see, for a guitar to sound good, you have to tune it. A fish cannot be tuned… but there is a fish called a tuna fish.

This joke is funny because “tune a” sounds like “tuna.”

Here is a tuna fish video that is in tune and has a nice jingle at the end:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged Chicken of the Sea, difference between, ELL, English, ESL, fish, food, funny, guitar, humor, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, old jokes, reading, tuna, Tuna fish, Tune, tune a fish, writing | Leave a comment

Light My Fire

Posted on October 14, 2015 by stfleming

Q: How do you make a fire with two sticks?
A: Make sure one of them is a match!

Explanation: This joke only works if you know what a matchstick is. If you have a match or a matchstick you can easily make a fire. This joke leads one to think that the answer will be “rub two sticks together” but that would be too much work for a joke.

Here is a link to a Jack London story, To Build a Fire: http://www.jacklondons.net/buildafire.html

If you want to build a fire by rubbing two sticks together you could try this:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged ELL, English, ESL, fire, funny, humor, jack london, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, match, Matchstick, reading, sports, sticks, survival, To Build a Fire, writing | Leave a comment

Trout Trouble?

Posted on October 12, 2015 by stfleming

Q: Why can’t fishermen be generous?
A: Because their business makes them sell fish!

Explanation: This is a bad pun (are there good puns?)! Their business makes them ‘sell fish’ or shall I say “selfish.” Yes, sell fish sounds just like selfish but there is a world of difference in the meaning. A selfish person is someone who wants everything for him or herself.

Here is a video of some folks selling fish at the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, WA:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged business, ELL, English, ESL, fish, fishermen, food, funny, generous, humor, jokes, kids, kids jokes, Pike Place Fish Market, reading, Seattle, selfish, sell fish, WA, writing | Leave a comment