# Drum Roll Resulting From A Corny Joke **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148 "2003-03-13T18:49:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/1 "2003-03-13T18:49:57Z")
You know that drum beat that accompanies a corny joke on many late night television shows? What is the best way to describe the sound in text? I’m not trying to describe it, I merely want a way to give a word to the various sounds, if that makes any sense at all. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/2 "2003-03-13T19:05:39Z")
There seem to be two versions of this noise, and either seems to be called a rimshot. “Technically” a rimshot is played by striking the rim of the snare drum at the same time as the drumhead to produce a sound I can only describe as “tonk!” There’s also a more vaudeville-esque version that might be spelled out as “barump-bump” ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/3 "2003-03-13T19:16:15Z")
I appreciate the response, but it’s not quite the answer I was looking for (though given my very confusing question, your response was admirable). You were on the right track with the “barump-bump” part; could you elaborate on that? Generally that sound if followed by a chime at the end. Perhaps if I describe what I’m trying to do, it will make more sense. I’m writing a comic, and a character just made a very corny joke and I wanted a way to describe that sound in the comic. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/4 "2003-03-13T19:26:03Z")
Badabum-ching! ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/5 "2003-03-13T19:30:37Z")
Damn, it was so simple. Thank you for helping out a local retard 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mandielise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@mandielise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandielise)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/6 "2003-03-14T02:44:06Z")
It’s actually called a rimshot. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/7 "2003-03-14T02:54:54Z")
Sigh… That _is_ the accepted terminology… I _have_ heard a real rimshot used to follow a joke that bombed, like: I’m so rich, I take _golden showers!_ [tonk] ---
**Author:** ![cleops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2acd7d/32.png) [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/8 "2003-03-14T03:07:50Z")
I’d say you were pretty durn close, [gotpasswords]. ---
**Author:** ![jono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@jono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jono)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/9 "2003-03-14T03:18:15Z")
i usually just go with badoomtish ---
**Author:** ![funions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/34f0e0/32.png) [@funions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funions)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/10 "2003-03-14T03:30:43Z")
The household that I grew up in used “bah-doom-boom” for the drum pattern, followed by a “tsssss” to signify the high hat. The high hat impression was only used for jokes with extremely corny punch lines. ---
**Author:** ![mandielise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@mandielise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandielise)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/11 "2003-03-14T14:38:02Z")
I was only saying that it’s a rimshot because it’s definately not a drum roll. As a percussionist, I can assure you that rimshots and drum rolls are VERY different things. I’ve never heard a drum roll follow a joke - they usually precede jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/12 "2003-03-14T15:03:39Z")
He wasn’t looking for the name of the rimshot. He was looking for the onomonopoetic word/sound for it. Hope I spelled that one right! ---
**Author:** ![mandielise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@mandielise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandielise)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/13 "2003-03-14T16:46:06Z")
duh-doom chh! ---
**Author:** ![mandielise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@mandielise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandielise)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/14 "2003-03-14T16:48:52Z")
BTW, I knew he wasn’t looking for the name. However, I wanted to clarify it, because the title of this thread is very misleading. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/15 "2003-03-14T20:34:44Z")
I guess it’s too late to add my two cents, but I’ve always used “Ba-dump-bump-chee!” ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/16 "2003-03-14T20:54:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mandielise \* > \*\*BTW, I knew he wasn’t looking for the name. However, I wanted to clarify it, because the title of this thread is very misleading. \*\* Misleading? You knew what I was talking about apparently. Besides, the “corny joke” pretty much clarified any possible confusion. ---
**Author:** ![mandielise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@mandielise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandielise)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/17 "2003-03-15T02:59:46Z")
Actually, I knew what you were talking about from everyone else’s responses. I though I had missed out on something when you were talking about a drum roll following a corny joke. I’m not typically into fads. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drum-roll-resulting-from-a-corny-joke/161148/18 "2003-03-15T06:24:59Z")
I like to use ba-DUM Pssssshhh – I pronounce the cymbal crash with a “P” to allude to the bass drum which is most often struck along with a crash.