A popular joke about the Swiss roll is:
Q: How do you make a Swiss roll?
A: Push him down a hill.
“How do you make a Swiss roll? Push him down an Alp” was cited in print in 1968.
“How do you make an egg roll?”/“Push it,” “How do you make a sausage roll?”/“Push it” and “How do you make a spring roll?”/“Push it” are similar “roll” riddles.
“How do you make a Belgian waffle?”/“Ask him why they have never won the World Cup,” “How do you make an Italian wine?”/“Kick him in the shins” and “How do you make a Venetian blind?”/“Poke him in the eye” are similar nationality riddles.
Wikipedia: Swiss roll
A Swiss roll, jelly roll, or cream roll is a type of sponge cake roll filled with whipped cream, jam, or icing.
The origins of the term are unclear. In spite of the name Swiss roll, the cake is believed to have originated elsewhere in Central Europe, likely Austria. It appears to have been invented in the nineteenth century, along with Battenberg, doughnuts and Victoria sponge.
29 March 1968, Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald, “World’s Worst Jokes Hot Newsstand Item” by Harold Morrison, pg. 9, col. 6:
“How do you make a Swiss roll?”
’‘Push him down an Alp.”
Google News Archive
12 September 1978, The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), “Fun Time—The Riddle Box,” pg. 6, col. 2:
How do you make a Swiss roll?
Push him down the Alps.
Google Books
Literature and Language Teaching
By Christopher Brumfit and Ronald Carter
New York, NY: Oxford University Press
1986
Pg. 7:
Q. How do you make a Swiss roll?
A. Push him down a mountain.
Google Books
On the Discourse of Satire:
Towards a Stylistic Model of Satirical Humor
By Paul Simpson
Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins North America
2003
Pg. 23:
Q: How do you make a Swiss roll?
A: Push him down a hill.
Google Books
1001 Cool School Yard Jokes
By Glen Singleton
Heatherton, Victoria: Hinkler Books
2004
Pg. 66:
How do you make a swiss roll?
Push him down a hill.
Twitter
MrsWood
@gradualdazzle
—How do you make a Swiss Roll?—push him off the mountain.
8:48 PM - 30 Mar 2009
Twitter
E Kristopher-Hartley
@efan78
@FizzyDuck How do you make a swiss roll? Push him down the Alps!
12:54 PM - 11 Apr 2009
Google Books
Confessor
By John Gardner
New York, NY: Mysterious Press
2013
Pg. ?:
“How do you make a Swiss roll, eh? Give him a push, yes?”
reddit
How do you make a swiss roll?
submitted May 26, 2016 by monsieurperrin
Push him down a hill.
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•“I read old books because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
•“I study old buildings because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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