“A butcher stands 6 feet tall and wears size 12 shoes—what does he weigh?” (riddle)
A popular riddle is:
Q: A butcher stands 6 feet tall and wears size 12 shoes. What does he weigh?
A: Meat.
The joke has been cited in print since at least 1902, when it was credited to the Empire Comedy Four of vaudeville.
Google Books
Choice Dialect and Vaudeville Stage Jokes:
Containing Side Splitting Stories, Jokes, Gags, Readings and Recitations ...
Chicago, IL: Frederick Drake & Company
1902
Pg. 28:
“You know Fatty Thompson the butcher. What do you suppose he weighs?”
“I don’t know, what does he weigh?”
“Meat.”—Empire Comedy Four.
Old Fulton NY Post Cards
2 August 1907, Washington County Post (Cambridge, NY), pg. 4, col. 6:
Tommy.—You know Fatty Thompson, the butcher. What do you suppose he weighs?
Father.—I don’t know. What does he weigh?
Tommy.—Meat.
Chronicling America
19 December 1911, The Day Book (Chicago, IL), pg. 14, col. 2:
Naturally.
You know Fatty Thompson the butcher. What do you think he weighs?
I don’t know; what does he weigh?
Meat.
Google Books
May 1938, Boys’ Life, “Think and Grin” edited by Frank Rigney, pg. 31, col. 2:
The Weigh He Said It
Bob: There’s a man that works at the butcher store. he is 5 ft. 3 1/2 in. tall, wears a 8 3/7 shoe and measures 33 in. around the waist. What does he weigh?
Bill: How should I know. What?
Bob: Meat.
Google Books
August 1960, Boys’ Life “Think and Grin,” pg. 62, col. 2:
Moe: A clerk in a butcher shop is 6 feet tall, wears a size I6 1/2 shirt. What does he weigh?
Joe: I don’t know.
Moe: Meat.—Larry Gordley, Manheim, Pa.
Google News Archive
26 February 1962, Miami (FL) News, “Fun Time,” pg. 6B, col. 8:
3. A butcher is 6 feet tall and wears size 12 shoes. What does he weigh?
Answers
3. Meat.
Google News Archive
21 April 1967, The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA), pg. 8, col. 2:
“Fun Time—The Riddle Box,”
3. Mr. Green, the butcher, is 6 feet tall and wears size 12 shoes. What does he weigh?
Answers
3. Meat.
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