# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/61 "2024-12-28T21:59:53Z")
> [@Shadow1414](#): > > 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. I appreciate this contribution. ---
**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 29, 2024, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/62 "2024-12-29T01:11:23Z")
Even Oscar Wilde wasn’t above the occasional dad joke: > JACK: My dear Algy, you talk exactly as if you were a dentist. It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn’t a dentist. It produces a false impression. > ALGERNON: Well, that is exactly what dentists always do. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/63 "2024-12-29T04:53:24Z")
> [@Shadow1414](#): > > 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. I don’t know if wikipedia articles are copyrighted or not, but [copying and pasting one](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dad_joke) without any sort of acknowledgement or attribution after boldly proclaiming what’s appropriate and not for a message board seems rather disingenuous. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/64 "2024-12-29T07:20:36Z")
Deleted. The link didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/65 "2024-12-29T14:29:11Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > without any sort of acknowledgement or attribution He did state the source was a browser, i.e. web search. Perhaps it was the Google AI lead definition. Those don’t typically have the standard blue text link at the bottom. I’d rather talk about what makes a Dad joke than some poster’s behavior. ---
**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 29, 2024, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/66 "2024-12-29T18:01:47Z")
> [@Shadow1414](#): > > As for my answer to the question (gained from a browser): Nothing is ever gained from a browser. They can be gained via a browser, but there’s always some source on the other end. That’s what you should be citing. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/67 "2024-12-29T19:18:35Z")
I just saw two exemplars online: How much does a rainbow weigh? I don’t know; it’s _pretty light_ Why does Snoop Dogg carry an umbrella? _Fo’ Drizzle_ (Bonus points on that last one if you are not at all Black, or into rap music, as it is a take on how Snoop, a well know rapper, tends to turn a phrase. The dissonance between the answer and the person delivering the answer can usually promise extra groans from the audience) ---
**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 29, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/68 "2024-12-29T19:37:41Z")
Man, that last joke was really updog. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/69 "2024-12-29T19:43:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > that last joke was really updog. What’s _updog_? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/70 "2024-12-29T19:50:41Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > What’s _updog_? Not much, what’s up with you? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/71 "2024-12-29T20:01:03Z")
:High five: ---
**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 29, 2024, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/72 "2024-12-29T20:26:48Z")
I did actually manage to pull that one on a student a few years ago. And as @Moriarty mentioned, the incongruity of me, as a middle-aged un-hip (or whatever they call “hip” nowadays) white guy, saying it, was definitely part of the humor. ---
**Author:** ![Tierce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Tierce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tierce)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/73 "2024-12-30T06:25:36Z")
A rather meta one made the rounds recently. Scene: _Empire Strikes Back_, Luke hanging on the precipice Darth Vader: Luke, I know what you’re getting for Christmas. Luke: How could you possibly know that? Darth Vader: I have felt your presents. Luke: That is the lamest dad joke ever. Darth Vader: Funny you should mention that… ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/74 "2024-12-30T06:50:09Z")
Every time my mom would tell my dad she was going to Ward’s (i.e. Montgomery Ward’s), he’d say, “Towards what?” Every single time. Also, when she’d ask him to put out the milk (or anything else), he’d ask, “Why? Is it on fire?” Again, every single time. These are dad jokes. They were directed at my mom, but that’s what they were. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/75 "2024-12-30T07:44:26Z")
A few of my Dad’s favourites: Q: How do you avoid falling hair? A: You get out of the way. Q: What do ducks do when they fly upside-down? A: They quack up. Q: Did you take a bath today? A: Why? Is there one missing? ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/76 "2024-12-30T12:24:42Z")
Why do ducks have webbed feet? To stamp out fires. Why do elephants have flat feet? To stamp out burning ducks. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2024, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/77 "2024-12-30T12:44:29Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > The dissonance between the answer and the person delivering the answer can usually promise extra groans from the audience On the other hand, there was no dissonance between what was said and the person saying it when my father would put on a somewhat more serious look than usual, and respond in a somewhat more serious tone than usual, like a White House Chief of Staff who’s just been informed about an especially important matter. SOMEONE, off-handedly: _“Huh, we’re almost out of milk.”_ MY DAD, with a grim nod: _“I’ll alert the media.”_ ---
**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:** [December 30, 2024, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/78 "2024-12-30T13:03:56Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > What’s _updog_? In my family, going back at least a generation before me (1950s-60s), the variations on this were _catsfor_ and _henway_. You’d casually sneak either into a conversation, hoping somone would ask: “What’s catsfor?” So you could reply: “catching mice!” Or, for “What’s a henway?” “About three pounds!” It didn’t work on my mom, who is into art history but not trucks, when someone casually said they saw a crash on the highway between a semi and a henway, because she asked: “What’s a semi?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/79 "2024-12-30T14:24:18Z")
I invented a new word! “Plagiarism.” ---
**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:** [December 30, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178/80 "2024-12-30T14:28:35Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I invented a new word! > > “Plagiarism.” “This room has great a-coo-iss-tics!” “…_acoustics._” “See?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dad-jokes/1012178.md?page=5)