# Is there a name for this style of joke? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [October 20, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865 "2023-10-20T23:44:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/1 "2023-10-20T23:44:33Z")
This is an actual conversation between a friend and me yesterday afternoon. > Monty: I’m not going anywhere tomorrow, so I’m having curry for dinner. > > Friend: Why aren’t you going anywhere tomorrow? > > Monty: I’m not going anywhere tomorrow because I’m having curry for dinner! Anyone know if this kind of joke has an actual name? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/2 "2023-10-21T00:24:17Z")
Misdirection? The humor from many jokes comes from twisting an expected outcome around. Your example flips the cause and effect— in the first sentence, the cause is not ‘going anywhere’ and the effect is ‘having curry for dinner’. Then it’s revealed that having curry for dinner is actually the reason for staying home. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/3 "2023-10-21T00:39:16Z")
Well, if it weren’t a set-up for a joke, but were presented as serious reasoning, it would be “begging the question.” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/4 "2023-10-21T00:42:15Z")
That’s some catch, that Catch-22… ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/5 "2023-10-21T02:07:26Z")
Are you sure it’s a joke 🤨 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/6 "2023-10-21T02:18:02Z")
Well, Heinlein 's assertion is humor is something bad happening to someone else, so for those who aren’t me, it’s funny. (Mind you, I say this from the loo. 🎼 “Plop, plop…Oh, what a relief…”) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/7 "2023-10-21T02:46:09Z")
I think your user name answers my question! ---
**Author:** ![Ms.L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@Ms.L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.L)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/8 "2023-10-21T05:19:02Z")
Why do giraffes have such long necks? Because their heads are so far away from their bodies. I tell this to my high school students and inevitably one student laughs and the others think it’s s real explanation. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/9 "2023-10-21T05:31:42Z")
Another actual conversation: > [@](#): > > A: Why are we having chicken for dinner? > > B: We’re not having chicken for dinner. > > A: Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/10 "2023-10-21T05:53:45Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Another actual conversation: Stopped for directions once… _“How do we get to Point Fermen?”_ Answer: _“Point Fermen? Where is that?”_ ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/11 "2023-10-21T06:18:58Z")
Try non-sequitur for size: > A _ **non sequitur** _ (English: [/nɒn ˈsɛkwɪtər/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [_non SEK-wit-ər_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key), [Classical Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Latin_language): [[noːn ˈsɛkᶣɪtʊr]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Latin); “[it] does not follow”) is a conversational [literary device](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_narrative_techniques), often used for comedic purposes. It is something said that, because of its apparent lack of meaning relative to what preceded it,[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur_(literary_device)#cite_note-1) seems [absurd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdity) to the point of being humorous or confusing. This use of the term is distinct from the _[non sequitur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_fallacy)_ in logic, where it is a [fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy).[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur_(literary_device)#cite_note-2) Notice it didn’t say it had to be actually funny. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/12 "2023-10-21T11:48:36Z")
Another actual conversation (which I have shared before): Nephew: Are there porcupines in Michigan? Me: I think so. I know they live near mountains. Nephew: Are there any mountains in Michigan? Me: Yeah, in the Upper Peninsula. Nephew: What are the mountains called? Me: Porcupine Mountains. mmm ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/13 "2023-10-21T19:50:43Z")
The humor comes from confusing cause and effect, or (as Lt Columbo once said) “putting the cart before the horse.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/14 "2023-10-21T19:53:52Z")
I’m sorry, I can’t hear you; I’ve got a banana in my ear. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/15 "2023-10-21T20:28:01Z")
I’ll take it! Another example, from The Goon Show: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ctM_Rvgjfpo/hqdefault.jpg ""What time is it Eccles?".wmv") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctM_Rvgjfpo) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/16 "2023-10-21T21:31:39Z")
In my high school’s variety show, it was a carrot. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/17 "2023-10-21T21:45:51Z")
I remember a non-observant Jew on this message board talking about how he was going to fast anyway on Yom Kippur, because how else would he have room for the big feast on the next day when you break the fast? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/18 "2023-10-21T22:06:13Z")
A conversation I had when I was teaching English in Czechoslovakia: **SHE:** You know there are two kinds of cherries, red and black? **ME:** Yes… **SHE:** What are they called in English? **ME:** Red and black cherries. When I saw she obviously didn’t believe me, I added “Or sweet and sour.” (Czech, like Russian, has a different word for each variety.) Another time: **SHE:** You know the men who do manual labor at this school? **ME:** Yes… **SHE:** What do you call them in English? **ME:** Engineers. When I saw she _really_ didn’t believe me, I added “They used to be called ‘janitors,’ but they don’t like it because they do more than just clean. They keep the physical plant running.” (Calling someone an “engineer” in Czech apparently implies they have some kind of specialized higher education.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/19 "2023-10-21T22:07:49Z")
“Operator, what’s the number for 911?” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865/20 "2023-10-21T22:09:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > (Calling someone an “engineer” in Czech apparently implies they have some kind of specialized higher education.) In English, too. Which is why nobody ever actually calls janitors “engineers”, even though their official title might be “sanitation engineers”. And someone who does more than just cleaning, and also does maintenance, is usually called a “custodian”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-style-of-joke/991865.md?page=2)