# The 'not' joke is still popular ..... Not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-not-joke-is-still-popular-not/781375 "2017-03-04T13:35:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [March 4, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-not-joke-is-still-popular-not/781375/1 "2017-03-04T13:35:56Z")
Americans, even though your President has, by his own admission, ‘the best words’, I was really surprised that he seems to tweet ‘not’ jokes. I thought they had their day last century, with Borat Sagdiyev’s [investigation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhIdbRp6xeg&list=RDfhIdbRp6xeg#t=4)as the final nail in the coffin [ignore Croatian subtitles, or pretend they are Kazakh]. I thought ‘not’ jokes were unfunny then, and far more so now. Seemed far less popular in other Englishes where we use irony and sarcasm all the time. Have I missed something and has the ‘not’ joke been around all the time, or is your president channelling the glory days of the Trump empire, and perhaps skipping the past few decades? ---
**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:** [March 4, 2017, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-not-joke-is-still-popular-not/781375/2 "2017-03-04T14:38:04Z")
Don’t be surprised by anything this president does- he’s a petulant child trapped in an old man’s body. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-not-joke-is-still-popular-not/781375/3 "2017-03-04T15:30:36Z")
The only thing still funny related to “not” is Borat’s hilariously erroneous attempt at it. ETA: Ninja’d – by the OP! (I never knew Borat had a last name.) ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-not-joke-is-still-popular-not/781375/4 "2017-03-04T17:12:47Z")
I never really thought of them as jokes as such. I think the Borat thing is more a play on the idea of teaching someone how to tell a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-not-joke-is-still-popular-not/781375/5 "2017-03-04T17:25:01Z")
I kinda thought the added “Not!” was for people who liked to use sarcasm but were afraid that someone would take them seriously unless they _announced_ they were using sarcasm. [One example](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzocC_VJsQc) I _did_ like, though it relies heavily on context. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-not-joke-is-still-popular-not/781375/6 "2017-03-06T13:40:10Z")
I believe the “…not!” thing has been replaced by “said no one ever.” Same form of joke: ironic statement, pause, then add the little kicker that makes it “funny.” ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-not-joke-is-still-popular-not/781375/7 "2017-03-06T17:06:55Z")
At least our President isn’t publicly making “That’s what she said” zingers. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-not-joke-is-still-popular-not/781375/8 "2017-03-06T17:26:59Z")
“Not!” jokes are still popular on Earth-2 according to The Flash.