Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
A joke about traffic congestion has been cited in print since at least 2008 and has been popular in the United Kingdom and the United States: "A lorry (truck -- ed.) loaded with Vicks VapoRub…
A hot dog riddle (NSFW) is: Q: How do you known you're at a gay barbecue?A: The hot dogs taste like shit. The joke is about "hot dogs" (or "wieners") resembling male…
"Righty tighty, lefty loosey" is a popular meme for how to screw and unscrew (nuts, screws, jars, et al.). "Right tight, left loose" was printed in The Western Mail (Perth,…
Candy corn is made primarily from sugar and corn syrup. "Candy corn is the only truth in the world. High fructose corn syrup formed BACK into corn" was posted on Twitter on October 8,…
The Chinese vegetable "bok choy" has nothing to do with German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), but there have been several puns. "If you're making a Faure to the…
A cow riddle is: Q: What do you call a cow during an earthquake?A: A milk shake. Forms of the riddle have been cited in print since at least 1967 and 1983. “What do you call a cow in a…
A cow riddle is: Q: What do you call a cow on a trampoline?A: A milk shake. Versions of the riddle have been cited in print since at least 1996. “What do you call a cow during an…
"Liver alone, cheese mine!" is a jocular way of saying "Leave her alone, she's mine!" The joke -- with a Mexican speaker using the line -- was posted on the newsgroup…
Some students skip class, but then run into the professor on the college campus. American stand-up comedian Emo Phillips made a joke: "I was in ROTC in college. I was walking across campus and…
An analog clock has "hands," but a digital clock doesn't. A riddle has been cited in print since at least 1974: Q: What did the digital clock say to its mother?A: Look, ma! No hands!…
"Why did the chicken cross the road?" is an old joke from the 19th century. A Möbius strip version is: Q: Why did the chicken cross the Möbius strip?A: To get to the same side. The joke…
Many people walk through stores "just looking around." A joke was printed in the New York (NY) Times on August 30, 1983, of a blind person who grabs his seeing eye dog by the tail and…
What is the oldest profession? "A surgeon, an architect, and a politician" is the start of a popular joke. The surgeon argues that Eve was created from Adam's rib, so surgery is the…
"Why did the chicken cross the road?" is an old joke from the 19th century. The punchline is usually "to get to the other side," but another version is: Q: Why did the chicken…
A teddy bear riddle was posted on the newsgroup alt.tasteless.jokes on October 11, 1997: Q: Why didn't the teddy bear eat anything?A: He was already stuffed. A dessert version was printed in…
"Cookie dough is the sushi of desserts" was posted on Reddit -- Shower Thoughts on August 2, 2014. Both cookie dough and sushi are raw food dishes. The saying has been printed on several…
A duck riddle is: Q: What time do ducks wake up?A: At the quack of dawn. The pun has been cited in print since at least 1983, and has been printed on several images. Google Books January 1983,…
A winter riddle is: Q: What do snowmen call their offspring?A: Chill-dren. "Chill-dren" is a pun on "chill" and "children." The joke has been cited in print since at…
"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A goat version is: "A goat walks into a bar. The bartender says, 'We don't…
"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A food version is: "A cabbage and celery walk into a bar and the cabbage gets served…