# Lateral Thinking Puzzles - third time is best! **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214 "2023-07-18T13:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 165
**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:** [May 27, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3281 "2025-05-27T21:28:59Z")
Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3282 "2025-05-30T03:50:09Z")
Could you have picked anyone in the audience to be the target or is Is there something specifically about them that makes the joke work? Was was the joke prompted by something the target did before the joke was made? Was the response the target gave in answer to a question you asked? Was the response of the target gave mid joke always basically the same, such that if they give a different response it wouldn’t have worked? ---
**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:** [May 30, 2025, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3283 "2025-05-30T17:38:22Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Could you have picked anyone in the audience to be the target or is Is there something specifically about them that makes the joke work? > > Was was the joke prompted by something the target did before the joke was made? I couldn’t have picked anyone else — but the only specific thing about them _is_ that they’ve just done something that prompts my line of patter. > [@](#): > > Was the response the target gave in answer to a question you asked? > > Was the response of the target gave mid joke always basically the same, such that if they give a different response it wouldn’t have worked? The mid-joke response is always basically the same — general encouragement to continue — and I don’t think it’d work if they’d instead reply by indicating that, no, they’re not interested in hearing what I’ve got to say. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3284 "2025-05-30T19:09:39Z")
Would you tell the joke if there wasn’t an audience besides the target? Is it possible to tell the joke if it’s just the two of you? Did the **something they did** involve another person? In terms of recreation, was it related to: sports travel gaming watching scripted or unscripted entertainment food ---
**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:** [May 30, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3285 "2025-05-30T22:05:00Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Would you tell the joke if there wasn’t an audience besides the target? Yes. > [@](#): > > Is it possible to tell the joke if it’s just the two of you? Yes. > [@](#): > > Did the **something they did** involve another person? Either a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ seems like the wrong answer. Insist and I’ll tell you which one strikes me as less bad, but I think it’d be misleading. > [@](#): > > In terms of recreation, was it related to: > sports > travel > gaming > watching scripted or unscripted entertainment > food I’d have to say “no.” ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2025, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3286 "2025-05-30T22:30:06Z")
Does this take place in a work setting? ---
**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:** [May 30, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3287 "2025-05-30T23:06:29Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Does this take place in a work setting? I don’t think it _needs_ to — but, as it happens, it always _has._ ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3288 "2025-05-31T00:27:23Z")
Homing in on the thing the target did to prompt the joke. Was it a physical action? Was it something they said? Was it a particular way they did something? Was it something they did on purpose? Was what they did generally regarded as a good thing? Was what they did generally regarded as a bad thing? Was it something that most people probably have done today? Is the lateral thinking part of the question why the target didn’t laugh? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3289 "2025-05-31T00:37:19Z")
Is it a joke **on** the person it is being told to? ---
**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:** [May 31, 2025, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3290 "2025-05-31T00:37:50Z")
Something they said, on purpose. Not sure how it’s generally regarded, but I’d wager most people haven’t done it today. > [@](#): > > Is the lateral thinking part of the question why the target didn’t laugh? Pretty much, yeah. I mean, what suggested this question to me is that nothing else readily comes to mind when I think of things that I say to someone — without insulting them — that have drawn an expected laugh from others, but never from the person I’m talking to. Struck me as unusual enough to be worth a mention. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3291 "2025-05-31T00:47:25Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Is it a joke **on** the person it is being told to? I guess this is where the lateral part comes in: _yes,_ but: how am I managing that, given what I said — “if anything, the only person I’m insulting with my remark is, arguably, _me_” — upthread? ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3292 "2025-05-31T00:54:20Z")
Does this “arguably insulting” remark have to do with intelligence? Appearance? Physical capabilities of any sort? Behavior? Social skills? Skills of any other sort whatsoever? ---
**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:** [May 31, 2025, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3293 "2025-05-31T00:57:27Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > Does this “arguably insulting” remark have to do with intelligence? Yes (and, strictly speaking, no to the rest). ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3294 "2025-05-31T01:03:30Z")
So, to be clear: we’re talking about a self-deprecating remark that jokingly implies your intelligence is not as high as you’d like it to be? Is that correct? ---
**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:** [May 31, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3295 "2025-05-31T01:15:07Z")
> [@dirtball](#): > > So, to be clear: we’re talking about a self-deprecating remark that jokingly implies your intelligence is not as high as you’d like it to be? Is that correct? I don’t _‘jokingly imply’_ something about how high my intelligence isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3296 "2025-05-31T01:23:18Z")
Would insulting yourself indirectly insult the person you are telling the joke to? Are the listeners laughing at you? Or laughing at the joke receiver? ---
**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:** [May 31, 2025, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3297 "2025-05-31T01:44:45Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Would insulting yourself indirectly insult the person you are telling the joke to? > Are the listeners laughing at you? > Or laughing at the joke receiver? I’m not sure what you have in mind, here. By ‘indirectly,’ do you mean something like: _“I’m talking to a guy who’s the same height as me, and I mention that I’m a given height and therefore stupid, and then I wait as folks realize the other guy is also in that category and so would also be stupid?”_ Because it’s nothing like that. But, yes: as far as I can tell, they’re laughing not at me but at the receiver — even though I’m insulting myself, and _not_ by denigrating a category the other guy happens to be in. ---
**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:** [May 31, 2025, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3298 "2025-05-31T01:57:04Z")
And, just to be clear: on the one hand, I’m feeling a little guilty at the thought that this maybe isn’t much of a lateral-thinking puzzle. But, on the other hand: _could you do it?_ Could you walk up to someone, and insult your own intelligence — and _only_ your own intelligence — and reliably get no laughs from them, but only from people who heard you do it? That strikes me as, y’know, sufficiently weird. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3299 "2025-05-31T01:58:07Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I’m not sure what you have in mind, here. Like, “I’m an idiot, so what does that say about you?” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2025, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3300 "2025-05-31T02:03:26Z")
I solved it. Here is the joke: In our conversation you’re the second-smartest person, but I’m next to last. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=164) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=166)