# What are Dad Jokes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 26, 2024, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178 "2024-12-26T09:36:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [December 27, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/41 "2024-12-27T00:48:50Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > > [@Smapti](#): > > > > My dad’s stock response to “Hey!” was always “Hay is for horses but oats taste better”. - > > What does a hall taste like? Why did the farmer start a punk rock band? He was tired of haulin’ oats! (Hat tip: Gregg Turkington) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/42 "2024-12-27T00:55:50Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > My dad’s stock response to “Hey!” was always “Hay is for horses but oats taste better”. My dad’s version was “Hay is for horses, better for cows.” ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/43 "2024-12-27T00:56:34Z")
Dad jokes can also reference TV shows from the prehistoric age before the internet. Ginger or MaryAnn is sone that comes to mind. ---
**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:** [December 27, 2024, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/44 "2024-12-27T01:58:26Z")
I always figured dad jokes were predominately family friendly and all ages. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/45 "2024-12-27T02:40:01Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > My dad’s stock response to “Hey!” was always “Hay is for horses but oats taste better”. Straw’s cheaper, grass is free, marry a farmer you get all three. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/46 "2024-12-27T02:51:33Z")
Hmm, I don’t know what happened. Straw’s cheaper, grass is free, marry a farmer you get all three. What did George Washington say before they got in the boat to cross the Delaware? “Men get in the boat!” Meta: I tell dad jokes. Sometimes he even laughs. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/47 "2024-12-27T03:03:31Z")
Actually, he said something funnier. But I’ll have to dig through the _Chernow_ to find it. It was ruder, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/48 "2024-12-27T03:09:46Z")
Ooo, do. I’ve been telling that joke for 40+ years. I’d like to surprise someone with a different punch line. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/49 "2024-12-27T03:30:18Z")
I went looking for the quote, and am beginning to suspect it is not accurate. It would be good for a joke, though. And it is “oft repeated”. It concerns [Henry Knox.](https://www.coopertoons.com/merryhistory/washingtonandknox/georgeandhenry.html) ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/50 "2024-12-27T03:41:21Z")
Whenever I see a cemetery I always say “people are dying to get in”. I can hear everyone in the cars eyes rolling. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/51 "2024-12-27T03:55:02Z")
> [@pirviii](#): > > Whenever I see a cemetery I always say “people are dying to get in”. I can hear everyone in the cars eyes rolling. - I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/52 "2024-12-27T03:59:52Z")
There was a local lake that was infamous for outbreaks of swimmer’s itch. It happened to have a cemetery on top of a large hill and back several yards above it. My dad would always quip during a swimmer’s itch outbreak that it was the juice from the dead people running down into the water. ---
**Author:** ![a6ka97](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@a6ka97](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a6ka97)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/53 "2024-12-27T14:20:10Z")
My dad’s go to dad’s joke was “How many dead people are buried in that cemetery?” All of them. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/54 "2024-12-27T14:34:03Z")
Whenever I see reports of a landslide, I say “That real estate is really moving!” ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/55 "2024-12-27T15:54:46Z")
Victim: Well… Dad: That’s a deep subject, bahahah. Vic: So… Dad: Sew a pair of kitten britches, lolololoil! ---
**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:** [December 27, 2024, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/56 "2024-12-27T15:57:12Z")
I usually respond to “So…” by singing “A needle pulling thread”. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/57 "2024-12-27T18:12:08Z")
Person: So… My dad: Sew stitches and sew your mouth shut. ---
**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:** [December 27, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/58 "2024-12-27T18:14:08Z")
“I ran into Bob Jenkins on the way home.” “Oh no, was he hurt?” ---
**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:** [December 27, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/59 "2024-12-27T18:20:06Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Corny humour. Often based on puns. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Not only tell a child, but tell them the same joke repeatedly over years. Real life example: whenever I would stub my toe as a kid, my dad would always say “uh oh, better call the tow truck”. A classic dad joke I then inflicted on my kids when they were little. ---
**Author:** ![Shadow1414](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadow1414/32/17382_2.png) [@Shadow1414](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadow1414)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/60 "2024-12-27T20:59:09Z")
My intention wasn’t to disparage the thread; rather, it was to offer a way to accumulate an answer that can’t suffer from individualistic understanding, as general discussion benefits from individualistic understanding. Regardless, I apologise and won’t make such posts in the future. — As for my answer to the question (gained from a browser): A dad joke is a joke, typically a pun, often presented as a one-liner or a question and answer. Generally inoffensive, dad jokes are told with sincere humorous intent or to intentionally provoke a negative “groaning” reaction to their overly simplistic humor. Dad jokes are called dad jokes because they are stereotypically thought to be jokes a father or someone like a father would tell to a child. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178.md?page=4)