Knock-knock joke
A knock-knock joke is a special kind of pun that always starts with someone saying, "Knock-knock!" and then someone else asking, "Who's there?"
The basic format is as follows:
Joke-Teller: "Knock-knock!"
Joke-Hearer: "Who's there?"
Teller: "[name or word]"
Hearer: "[name or word] who?"
Teller: "[answer]"
Knock-knock jokes come from "do you know?" jokes in the 1900s and became very popular in the 1930s.[1]
Example
changeAn example of a knock-knock joke is:
Kenny: "Knock knock!"
Lenny: "Who's there?"
Kenny: "Aunt Anne!"
Lenny: "Aunt Anne who?"
Kenny: "Aunt Anne Dec!" (Ant and Dec, British kids' TV stars)
Popular culture
change"Knock knock" was the catchphrase of music hall performer Wee Georgie Wood, who was recorded in 1936 saying it in a radio play, but he simply used the words as a reference to his surname and did not use it as part of the well-known joke formula. The format was well known in the UK and US in the 1950s and 1960s before falling out of favor.
Knock-knock jokes have been used by Mr. Moose from Captain Kangaroo.
References
change- ↑ "The Secret History Of Knock-Knock Jokes". NPR.org. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2017.