# Nobody got my witty one-liner at work today **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 26, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797 "2010-05-26T04:10:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shadez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Shadez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadez)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/21 "2010-05-26T10:47:54Z")
As with most things in life, I get the joke… …only because the Simpsons [spoofed it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi6vAXv0KrA). Those in the Simpsons generation, unite! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/22 "2010-05-26T10:49:51Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I can’t look at the videos from here, but to me “send in the clowns” is a stock phrase, so yes I find it a funny, if slightly obvious (!) joke. It doesn’t make me think of any tune in particular, though, so I’m not sure what the ear-worm comments are. > Unless it’s that “duh-duh-du-du-du-du-DUH-DUH-deer-duh” circus tune? > > Edit… OK, I googled it and it seems to be a Sondheim show tune. Well maybe, but “send in the clowns” is just such a common phrase that anyone ought to know it even if (like me) they don’t know the song). It’s a stock phrase from the song “Send in the clowns” from the musical “A Little Night Music”. Judy Collins popularized in the '70s (and I saw her sing it in March in New York!). EDIT: Didn’t see your edit! It’s like “My Way” where you might have never seen the actual original usage but the song gets integrated into pop culture ---
**Author:** ![Salem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Salem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salem)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/23 "2010-05-26T11:00:38Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I work in a retail setting that is hosting a carnival-themed promotion starting today. During a meeting this afternoon, a co-worker opened the door and popped his head in to announce, “the clowns are here”. Almost immediately, I replied, “send them in.” > > Then, silence. Maybe a dozen people in the room. ‘Dopers woulda got it’, I muttered to myself. > > mmm If it makes you feel any better, had I been there, I would have looked around the room and said, “Don’t bother, they’re here.” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/24 "2010-05-26T11:04:11Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Nobody got my witty one-liner at work today Isn’t that rich? ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/25 "2010-05-26T11:16:44Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Isn’t that rich? Don’t you approve? ---
**Author:** ![kortia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba9def/32.png) [@kortia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kortia)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/26 "2010-05-26T11:23:58Z")
> [@Shadez](#): > > As with most things in life, I get the joke… > > …only because the Simpsons [spoofed it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi6vAXv0KrA). Those in the Simpsons generation, unite! I also pictured Krusty’s Comeback Special, and have no knowledge of the original source. But I still laughed. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/27 "2010-05-26T11:26:18Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Reminds me of a phone call my dad once got: > > Dad: Hello? > > Caller: Is this Mr. \_\_\_\_\_\_ ? > > Dad: I am he. > > Caller: You are he? > > Dad: And you are me and we are all together. > > Caller: Huh? > > Dad: Can I help you? The OP made me smile – this made me giggle uncontrollably. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/28 "2010-05-26T11:39:23Z")
Bummer, dude. FWIW, I would have roared. > [@Colophon](#): > > Unless it’s that “duh-duh-du-du-du-du-DUH-DUH-deer-duh” circus tune? For the record, that’s [“Entrance of the Gladiators”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrance_of_the_Gladiators) ([YouTube link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B0CyOAO8y0)). ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/29 "2010-05-26T11:55:03Z")
The other day I had my own ancient pop-culture reference go over the heads of my younger co-workers. A PC with a noisy fan was making a racket so I thumped it with my fist, the noise stopped, and gave my best Fonzie “ayyyy”. _crickets_ I told them if they were 15 years older that would’ve been funny. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/30 "2010-05-26T11:58:46Z")
> [@](#): > > If it makes you feel any better, had I been there, I would have looked around the room and said, “Don’t bother, they’re here.” No – after you say “Send them in, you _have_ to say"There ought to be clowns” first. _Then_ (preferably after they’ve come in) you get to say “Don’t bother. They’re here.” ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/31 "2010-05-26T12:08:21Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Slow on the uptake? Maybe they just aren’t well versed in ancient pop-culture. I certainly wouldn’t have gotten it. “Alas, Rosencrantz, the knife is serrated, and rusty, and it pains me so” - Guildenstern\* - = no. not really. ---
**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:** [May 26, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/32 "2010-05-26T12:19:27Z")
OP here. Well, thanks everyone. I do feel better reading your responses; I knew you’d come through. I never accept the ‘generational thing’ argument, though. Had someone made a reference to, say, the WWI song ‘Over There’, I certainly would have understood the remark. And I most definitely was not around in the 19-teens. 😃 As for this: > [@](#): > > Dad: And you are me and we are all together. Brilliant! mmm ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/33 "2010-05-26T13:04:21Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > For the record, that’s [“Entrance of the Gladiators”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrance_of_the_Gladiators) ([YouTube link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B0CyOAO8y0)). Ah, of course. (But is it just me that has a hard time associating the bouncy fairground organ tune with gladiators?) ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/34 "2010-05-26T13:13:15Z")
I love you guys. One Halloween, I went to work with what I thought was a great costume. I was dressed in all black with a black hood, carried around a stuffed cat on a noose, and wore a name tag that said, “Hello, my name is Curiosity.” People Did Not Get It! I had to actually say several times: “Hello! My name is Curiosity! I Killed The Cat!” ---
**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:** [May 26, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/35 "2010-05-26T14:04:39Z")
One more: My sister used to work in a hospital. One day, two patients sharing a room had the surnames Unger and Madison. And they were _roommates!_ She pointed out to a group of her co-workers how amusing this was, then promptly had to explain _why_ it was amusing. _Nobody_ got the reference. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/36 "2010-05-26T14:10:23Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > One more: My sister used to work in a hospital. One day, two patients sharing a room had the surnames Unger and Madison. And they were _roommates!_ She pointed out to a group of her co-workers how amusing this was, then promptly had to explain _why_ it was amusing. _Nobody_ got the reference. That’s odd… ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/37 "2010-05-26T14:13:47Z")
To the OP: I would have just sat there humming. And they still wouldn’t have gotten it. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/38 "2010-05-26T14:28:51Z")
I launched a dud just a few minutes ago. My coworker emails me [this story](http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/gored_matador_gets_spain_and_suffering_uKtLPXB9Snnc3d4BRNZPUN#ixzz0ofYvk05e): > [@the article](#): > > "[The horn] went though the tongue and penetrated the roof of the mouth I said: I guess the bull found him unpalatable. ::Crickets:: Aw, COME ON PEOPLE! > [@kortia](#): > > I also pictured Krusty’s Comeback Special, and have no knowledge of the original source. Put me down for that one as well. 1974 musical? What? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/39 "2010-05-26T14:37:03Z")
> [@Noone\_Special](#): > > That’s odd… She told a couple nurses… what an odd couple… ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797/40 "2010-05-26T14:49:22Z")
Hey, you. Get offa my clown. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nobody-got-my-witty-one-liner-at-work-today/540797.md?page=3)