# 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:** 167
**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:** [June 4, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3321 "2025-06-04T00:08:10Z")
Got it. No, what I say isn’t structured as a direct answer to a question. ---
**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:** [June 4, 2025, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3322 "2025-06-04T00:23:29Z")
If we heard the joke would it be clear why the target didn’t laugh? If the target was asked about the joke afterwards would there be a good chance they would say it was funny? Did part of what you said in the joke specifically direct them not to laugh? If we knew what the target said that prompted the joke would that be any help in determining why the target didn’t laugh? ---
**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:** [June 4, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3323 "2025-06-04T00:33:41Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > If the target was asked about the joke afterwards would there be a good chance they would say it was funny? I doubt it. > [@](#): > > Did part of what you said in the joke specifically direct them not to laugh? Nope. > [@](#): > > If we knew what it was that prompted the joke would that be any help in determining why the target didn’t laugh? Yes. But if you didn’t, I’m pretty sure you could deduce it per your other question: > [@](#): > > If we heard the joke would it be clear 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:** [June 4, 2025, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3324 "2025-06-04T00:36:50Z")
You say you insult your own intelligence. Do you reference the target at all in your joke, either positively, negatively or by reference? ---
**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:** [June 4, 2025, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3325 "2025-06-04T00:43:53Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > You say you insult your own intelligence. > Do you reference the target at all in your joke, either positively, negatively or by reference? I don’t believe my comment references the target at all. ---
**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:** [June 4, 2025, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3326 "2025-06-04T00:43:59Z")
Even if it wasn’t a direct insult to the target, did it leave the target feeling embarrassed, insulted, angry, or otherwise upset? Was politics involved somehow? Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke a statement about him/her self? Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke a statement about you? Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke a current conditions (e.g. boy is it cold)? Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke a general opinion (e.g. The Bulls are the best)? Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke a factual statement? (e.g. Tallahassee is the capital of Florida)? Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke an incorrect statement? (e.g. Vaccines cause Autism)? ---
**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:** [June 4, 2025, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3327 "2025-06-04T01:21:16Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Even if it wasn’t a direct insult to the target, did it leave the target feeling embarrassed, insulted, angry, or otherwise upset? I’d say so, yeah. > [@](#): > > Was politics involved somehow? I don’t think so. > [@](#): > > Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke a statement about him/her self? No. > [@](#): > > Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke a statement about you? No. > [@](#): > > Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke a current conditions (e.g. boy is it cold)? No. > [@](#): > > Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke a general opinion (e.g. The Bulls are the best)? No. > [@](#): > > Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke a factual statement? (e.g. Tallahassee is the capital of Florida)? > Was the statement made by the target that prompted the joke an incorrect statement? (e.g. Vaccines cause Autism)? Strictly speaking, I guess it’s an incorrect statement of fact. But that feels really misleading. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2025, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3328 "2025-06-05T15:08:03Z")
Is the statement that prompts the joke something said sarcastically? ---
**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:** [June 5, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3329 "2025-06-05T18:40:34Z")
Did the joke point out the fallacy of the original statement? ---
**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:** [June 5, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3330 "2025-06-05T22:12:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is the statement that prompts the joke something said sarcastically? Not as I understand sarcasm, no. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2025, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3331 "2025-06-05T22:18:41Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Did the joke point out the fallacy of the original statement? Not directly, no. But something in that direction gets implied. ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3332 "2025-06-09T15:25:26Z")
Is the inciting statement about religion? Politics? Sports? Something about the speaker? (I have one ready for after this gets answered.) ---
**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:** [June 9, 2025, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3333 "2025-06-09T15:31:28Z")
> [@Ana\_Byrd](#): > > Is the inciting statement about religion? Politics? Sports? No to all. > [@](#): > > Something about the speaker? No (except in the hyper-literal sense that they’re the one saying it). ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2025, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3334 "2025-06-09T15:42:50Z")
Is the joke a literal interpretation of a not-so-literal pleasantry? ---
**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:** [June 9, 2025, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3335 "2025-06-09T15:43:49Z")
Not at all. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2025, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3336 "2025-06-11T17:08:56Z")
I gotta say, I’m at a complete loss here. Can someone summarize what we know so far? ---
**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:** [June 11, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3337 "2025-06-11T22:36:35Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I gotta say, I’m at a complete loss here. Yeah, again, all apologies: I figured this was pretty weak as a ‘lateral’ puzzle, but also figured it’d get Twenty Questions’d pretty quick, for a reveal that I hoped would be interesting enough to justify a short amount of time spent on it. Which I guess wasn’t the case… > [@](#): > > Can someone summarize what we know so far? Four separate times now, I’ve had a guy say something to me — not about sports or religion, and not about him or me — and I’ve responded by saying something that I didn’t think he’d laugh at (and he hasn’t), but that I hoped bystanders would laugh at (and they have). And my comment — which doesn’t involve sex or drugs or drinking — doesn’t directly or indirectly insult anyone except, arguably, me (specifically, my intelligence). And the guy I’m talking at could explain why folks other than him laughed; it required no prep on my part, no gestures and no props, and nothing from the recipient but the thing that he said. I think that covers the essentials? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3338 "2025-06-11T23:00:09Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I think that covers the essentials? And you are saying the same thing each time? ---
**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:** [June 11, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3339 "2025-06-11T23:06:53Z")
Yes, I am. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214/3340 "2025-06-11T23:08:56Z")
so…What are you saying? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=166) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lateral-thinking-puzzles-third-time-is-best/987214.md?page=168)