Explain the Joke

Hare Raising

Posted on October 10, 2015 by stfleming

Q: How do you paint a rabbit purple?
A: With purple hare spray!

Explanation: Hair≠ Hare but they sound the same. Hair is on your head and sometimes people use hairspray to keep their hair in place. Hare is an animal similar to a rabbit. And there is no such thing as Hare Spray! (But there is spray paint.)

That is what makes this joke funny- playing with the word hare/ hair and the idea of purple hare spray to paint a hare the color purple.

All of this reminded me of the movie Hairspray so here is the final song:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged ELL, English, ESL, funny, hair, Hairspray, hare, humor, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, music, purple, rabbit, reading, spray paint, writing | Leave a comment

PB & J

Posted on October 8, 2015 by stfleming

Q: Why do bananas have to put on sunscreen before they go to the beach?
A: Because they might peel!

Explanation: A banana peel is the outside skin of the banana. Your skin can peel if you are in the sun and you get a sun burn. In order to avoid a sunburn you need to use sunscreen.

This joke is funny because of the double meaning of the word peel (the outer skin of a banana and what your skin does when it gets burned. Sunburns, though, are not funny- use sunscreen!

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged banana, ELL, English, ESL, food, fruit, funny, humor, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, peel, reading, sick, skin, spongebob, sun, sunscreen, writing | Leave a comment

Llama Llama 2

Posted on September 17, 2015 by stfleming

Q: What’s a llama’s favorite movie?
A: Llamadeus!

Q: What do you call a very fast llama?
A: A Llamaghini!

Explanation: Both of these jokes play with the word llama: the first changes Amadeus into Llamadeus; the second changes Lamborghini into Llamaghini. Many jokes in English play with words in this way.

Here is the trailer for the movie Amadeus:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged Amadeus, ELL, English, ESL, fast, funny, humor, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, Lamborghini, llama, movie, Mozart, music, peru, reading, writing | Leave a comment

“Llama Llama”

Posted on September 15, 2015 by stfleming

Q: What’s more amazing than a talking llama?
A: A spelling bee!

Explanation: I love llamas– especially here in Peru. And no, llamas do not talk but it sure would be amazing if they did!

In this joke the idea of a talking llama leads to the idea of a bee that talks or maybe even spells (Llama is spelled l-l-a-m-a). This joke is funny because a spelling bee is a contest where students show how much they know about spelling words… it is not a bee that spells.

Here is a clip from Akeelah and the Bee- a movie about a spelling bee:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged akeelah, ELL, English, ESL, funny, humor, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, llama, llamas, peru, reading, spelling, spelling bee, sports, teacher, writing | Leave a comment

Math eaters?

Posted on September 7, 2015 by stfleming

Q: Why don’t you do arithmetic in the jungle?
A: Because if you add 4 + 4 you get ate!

Explanation: So, school starts tomorrow in St. Paul, MN so this bad joke is for my SPPS friends.

Yes, it is true that 4+4 = 8; but 8 sounds the same as “ate” (which should be eaten as in “you would be eaten”) and that is what makes this joke funny! Have a great start to the new school year!!

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged 8, ate, eaten, eight, ELL, English, ESL, funny, humor, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, math, math joke, Minnesota, reading, school, school starts, spps, st. paul, writing | Leave a comment

St-ability

Posted on September 6, 2015 by stfleming

“As a jockey I work with horses, but at least it’s a stable job!”

This line is from Charles Lamb and it plays on the double meaning of the word stable: 1) a building where horses are kept; 2) not likely to change.

The job of a jockey is stable because he is not going to lose his job and there is always work to do. Jockey’s work in stables.

Have a great Labor Day if you are in the U.S. or if you need a reason to celebrate!

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged ELL, English, ESL, funny, horse, humor, job, jockey, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, labor day, reading, sports, stable, work, writing | Leave a comment

Flying Garbage?

Posted on September 4, 2015 by stfleming

Q: What has 4 wheels and flies?
A: A garbage truck!

Explanation: When you hear “4 wheels and flies” you expect that the word “flies” means something that flies in the air like an airplane or perhaps Superman. You do not expect that “flies” means the insect, fly (or rather the plural of fly: flies).

It’s true: a garbage truck has 4 wheels and lots of flies because flies like garbage.

And just for fun, here is a flying garbage truck:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged 4 wheels, ELL, English, ESL, flies, fly, food, four wheels, funny, garbage, garbage truck, humor, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, reading, truck, writing | Leave a comment

Up, Down and Over

Posted on September 1, 2015 by stfleming

Q: What goes through towns, up hills and down hills but never moves?
A: The road!

Explanation: A road goes through towns, a road goes up hills and a road goes down hills but a road never moves- the vehicles on the road move.

This joke is funny because when you hear it, you are expecting an answer related to something like an animal or a car, not a road.

In the United States there are many songs and stories about roads and road trips. Here is one version of a road song with visuals the whole way: Route 66

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged downhill, ELL, English, ESL, funny, humor, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, reading, road, road stories, road trip, town, uphill, writing | Leave a comment

Night Drawing?

Posted on August 31, 2015 by stfleming

Q: Why should you take a pencil to bed?
A: To draw the curtains!

Explanation: At night, many people close the curtains (shut the curtains, draw the curtains) to keep the light out. “Draw the curtains” is another way to say, “Close the curtains” or shut the curtains.”

One of the uses of a pencil is to draw, that is, create pictures using a pencil and paper.

This joke is funny because it plays with two meanings of the word draw. Here is a video of how to draw a pencil:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged close, curtain, draw, draw the curtains, ELL, English, ESL, funny, humor, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, pencil, pencil and paper, pencil drawing, reading, shut, the curtains, writing | Leave a comment

Jail Call

Posted on August 28, 2015 by stfleming

Q: What do prisoners use to call each other?
A: Cell phones!

Explanation: A cell phone is a celular phone, a mobil phone. They are the ones that are replacing land lines as we stay connected 24/7. Did you know that there are more than 6 billion cell phones in use?

Prisoners are kept in jail cells or prison cells.

This joke is funny because it uses the word “cell” in two different ways. Here is another way telephones are used:

Posted in ELL, ESL, humor, Joke | Tagged call, cell, Cell phones, ELL, English, ESL, funny, humor, jail, joke, jokes, kids, kids jokes, land lines, mobile phone, phone, prison cells, prisoners, reading, writing | Leave a comment