Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Punny

J-dog and V-meister are quite fond of the knock-knock joke genre, although the whole concept of a punchline continues to elude them.

J-dog: "Hey, Mama, knock-knock!"

Me: "Who's there?"

J-dog: "Banana pants."

Me: "Banana pants who?"

J-dog: "BANANA PANTS!!!!"

Riotous laughter ensues. The J-dog and his sister high-five each other, practically falling off their chairs from the hilarity of it all.

When they've recovered, I take a stab at explaining the delicate nuances of linguistic humor and break down the anatomy of a knock-knock joke for them.

"Well, you have the delivery part down, J-dog, but what you need is a good punchline - an amusing play on words that tells a story while catching your audience off guard. Like this: Knock-knock!"

J-dog and V-meister, in unison: "Who's there?"

Me: "Boo."

J-dog and V-meister: "Boo who?"

Me: "Don't cry, it's just a knock-knock joke."

(Blank stares followed by polite chuckling)

Me: "Do you see how that works, kids? It's funny because 'boo-who' sounds like someone's crying, am I right?"

The two of them ponder this for a moment, and then V-meister has a lightbulb moment.

"OK, Mama. I got a good one for you. Knock-knock!"

J-dog and I, in unison: "Who's there?"

V-meister: "Banana cake!"

J-dog and I: "Banana cake who?"

V-meister: "BANANA CAKE!!!!!"

She can barely cough out the punchline because she is already ROTFLing. The J-dog gives her a standing ovation from his high chair and, if truth be told, I have trouble suppressing giggles of my own.

There's just something about bananas.

(They have a certain appeal.)

18 comments:

AJU5's Mom said...

Oh, kids and their jokes! It must be an inside joke :)

Anonymous said...

Banana is indeed a funny word. I'd be cracking up.

BANANA PANTS!!!

Amy said...

I remember this phase with my first two. The jokes that made no sense at all but they laughed hysterically. And then one day, Shark said, "What do ducks like in the soup?"

"Quakers!"

Well, finally!

painted maypole said...

MQ was the same way - so I lookedup jokes on line to try to teach her and get her some actual JOKES. it all started with my dad at the zoo

"llama"

"llama who"

"llama llama ding dong."

justmylife said...

'They have a certain appeal' LOL

'Banana Pants' ROFLMAO

'Banana cake' AH HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I love your kids!

Anonymous said...

Have you taught them the Bisquick one? I'm kinda hoping my five year old doesn't tell his teacher where he learned it, but it does has a punchline plus potty humor. A sure hit.

Knock knock...

Who's there?

Bisquick!

Bisquick who?

Bisquick... your pants are on fire!!!!!!

Unknown said...

Knock Knock!

Who's There?

Boogers McGhee!

Boogers McGhee who?

BOOGERS MCGHEE!!!!

Linguistic nuance is totally overrated.

Anonymous said...

That's great! I've been trying to get pregnant and reading What to Expect When You're Expecting is scary. It's stuff like this that makes me realize that the "ring of fire," stretch marks and peeing a little when I laugh will reap great rewards!

Life in Eden said...

Ah, I can't get my 5-yr-old to understand them either. The only one he can remember is the banana, banana, banana, orange one. But even then he really doesn't understand the joke.

*sigh*

KC said...

Ah, children humor. Who gets it?

I'd vote for "Banana Head"

I laugh all the time whenever I say anything followed by "head".

Heather said...

Ha ha! I love it!

Karen MEG said...

"Appeal"... snort!
You know, whatever works ... as long as they're laughing together and not making each other cry, it's a bonus :).

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

That is priceless. Bananas? Ah, what entertainment!

Pgoodness said...

Love it! Mine do the knock knock thing with no punchline too. Crack me up!

Today's joke?

the word Parallelogram. Yes, really. :)

JCK said...

I loved this post! Reminds me so much of our household. Except all the knock knock jokes have something to do with a "bottom" and then riotous laughing ensues..

Janet said...

All our preschool jokes revolve around poop.

Poop, poop, poop.

Actually, it is pretty funny.

Anonymous said...

You've just taken me back about fifteen years when our middle son was a huge fan of the Knock-Knock joke. Thanks for the smile.

Vodka Mom said...

lol!!!

There's just SOMETHING about bananas......