Knock-knock joke

The knock-knock joke is a "question-and-answer" joke, usually ending with a pun. The teller of the joke calls "Knock, knock!", the other person responds, "Who's there?" and the teller gives a name (such as "Boo"). The other person then responds by asking the caller's surname ("Boo who?"), to which the joke-teller delivers a pun involving the name ("Hey don't cry it's alright!!").[1]

The formula of the joke must be followed strictly. "Knock-knock." "Who's there?" "[Someone or something.]" "[Someone or something] who?" " Punchline." Children in preschool in the USA learn this formula.

History

Writing in the Oakland Tribune, Merely McEvoy recalled a style of joke from around 1900 where a person would ask a question such as "Do you know Arthur?", the unsuspecting listener responding with "Arthur who?" and the joke teller answering "Arthurmometer!"[1]

A variation of the format in the form of a children's game was described in 1929.[2] In the game of Buff, a child with a stick thumps it on the ground, and the dialogue ensues:

Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Buff.
What says Buff?
Buff says Buff to all his men, And I say Buff to you again.

In 1936, the standard knock-knock joke format was used in a newspaper advertisement.[3] That joke was:

Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Rufus.
Rufus who?
Rufus the most important part of your house.

A 1936 Associated Press newspaper article said that "What's This?" had given way to "Knock Knock!" as a favorite parlor game.[4] The article also said that "knock knock" seemed to be an outgrowth of making up sentences with difficult words, an old parlor favorite. A popular joke of 1936 was "Knock knock. Who's there? Edward Rex. Edward Rex who? Edward wrecks the Coronation."[5] Fred Allen's December 30, 1936 radio broadcast included a humorous wrapup of the year's least important events, including a supposed interview with the man who "invented a negative craze" on April 1: "Ramrod Dank... the first man to coin a Knock Knock."[6]

"Knock knock" was the catchphrase of music hall performer Wee Georgie Wood, who was recorded in 1936 saying it in a radio play, but he simply used the words as a reference to his surname and did not use it as part of the well-known joke formula.[7] The format was well known in the UK and US in the 1950s and 1960s before falling out of favor. It then enjoyed a renaissance after the jokes became a regular part of the badinage on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Linton Weeks (March 3, 2015). "The Secret History of Knock-Knock Jokes". Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  2. Henry Bett (1929). The games of children: their origin and history. Singing Tree Press. p. 87.
  3. "Hee Haw News" p. 4. Rolfe Arrow. (Rolfe, Iowa). Sep. 10, 1936.
  4. "'Knock Knock' Latest Nutsy Game For Parlor Amusement." P. 1. Aug. 3, 1936. Titusville Herald (Pennsylvania). Byline Aug. 2. New York.
  5. "Wallis Simpson 'not good looking'". The Daily Telegraph. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  6. Allen, Fred; Hample, Stuart (2001). All the Sincerity in Hollywood--: Selections from the Writings of Radio's Legendary Comedian Fred Allen. Fulcrum Pub. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-55591-154-6.
  7. 1 2 Rees, Nigel (2006). A Word in Your Shell-like: 6,000 Curious & Everyday Phrases Explained. Collins. p. 395. ISBN 978-0-00-722087-8.
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