"Waiter, there's a fly drowning in my alphabet…

Alphabet soup doesn’t help with spelling bees, but there are jokes about pairing the two. There are “fly in my soup” and “bee/B in my soup” jokes about alphabet soup as well.

“How is Alphabet Soup not a sponsor of the Spelling Bee?” was posted on Twitter by Titus Smith on May 26, 2016. “are you allowed to eat alphabet soup at a spelling Bee?” was posted on Twitter by Rick Allen on August 16, 2021.

“What kind of bee buzzes around your alphabet soup? Don’t know? Why of course a spelling bee!” was posted on Twitter by Mikeski on December 4, 2013. “What kind of bee hovers over a bowl of alphabet soup? A spelling bee” was posted on Reddit—Dadjokes on September 9, 2021.

“CUSTOMER: Waiter, there’s a fly in my alphabet soup! WAITER: That’s no fly, that’s a spelling bee” was printed in the book Jokelopedia: The Biggest, Best, Silliest, Dumbest Joke Book Ever! (2013). “Customer: theres a fly in my alphabet soup Waiter: that’s no fly its just a spellling bee” was posted on Twitter by KATIE S on February 18, 2014. “customer: waiter, there’s a fly in my alphabet soup! waiter: that’s no fly, that’s a spelling bee” was posted on Twitter by olivia whillock on October 5, 2014.

“Irate Diner: Hey, waiter; there’s an F-L-Y in my alphabet soup” is a joke by James L. Dilley that was printed in Life magazine (a humor magazine) in 1927.

“Waiter, what’s this fly doing in my alphabet soup?”/“Probably learning to read, sir” was printed in the Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) on April 27, 1972.

“OVERHEARD in a restaurant: Diner: ‘Waiter, there’s a fly drowning in my alphabet soup.’ Waiter: ‘Tell him to stick his head through an ‘O’ and use it as a life preserver’” was printed in the Boscobel (WI) Dial on July 30, 1987. “‘Waiter, there’s a fly in my alphabet soup.’ ‘Quick, throw him an O’” was posted on Twitter by RobinDfish on November 1, 2009. “@midnight #RuinASoup The fly in my alphabet soup is using the letter O as a life jacket” was posted on Twitter by Tait Brown on February 5, 2015. “#ConfuseAWaiter There is a fly in my Alphabet Soup but its ok its using the letter O as a llife preserver” was posted on Twitter by Tait Michael Brown on August 20, 2016.

“‘Waiter, what’s this fly doing in my alphabet soup?’ ‘Seems like he’s sending an S.O.S.’” was printed in The Bathroom Joke Book (1993) by Russ Edwards.

“Waiter, there is a bee in my alphabet soup! Yes sir, and Im sure there is an A, C and all the other letters too!” was posted on Twitter by louie louie on January 16, 2010. “Waiter, there is a bee in my alphabet soup ! Yes sir, and I’m sure there is an A, C and all the other letters too !” was posted on Twitter by angeles_rebarch on January 27, 2010. “Waiter, there is a bee in my alphabet soup ! Yes sir, and I’m sure there is an A, C and all the other letters too ! #waiterjokes #jokes #funny” was posted on Twitter by Jokeio on May 2, 2021.

Wikipedia: Alphabet pasta
Alphabet pasta, also referred to as alfabeto and alphabetti spaghetti in the UK, is a pasta that has been mechanically cut or pressed into the letters of the alphabet. It is often served in an alphabet soup, sold in a can of condensed broth. Another variation, Alphagetti, consists of letter-shaped pasta in a marinara or spaghetti sauce.

It is not clear who invented alphabet soup, or when.

Newspapers.com
27 February 1929, Olean (NY) Evening Times, “Personals,” pg. 7, col. 2:
Irate Diner: Hey, waiter; there’s a F-L-Y in my alphabet soup.

Newspapers.com
14 May 1929, Tucson (AZ) Daily Citizen, “Laughs from Life,” pg. 14, col. 2:
IRATE DINER: Hey, waiter, there’s an F-L-Y in my alphabet soup!

Newspapers.com
21 November 1953, Indianapolis (IN) Star, “That Reminds Me!” by James E. Farmer, pg. 15, col. 1:
GOOD HUMOR MAN: James L. Dilley, Indianapolis ad man, looked up from a scrapbook, chuckling. Before him was a clipping of the quip of the irate diner: “Hey, waiter, there’s an F-L-Y in my alphabet soup!”

It was a gag Dilley had sold to the old Life magazine in 1927 for $5.

Newspapers.com
18 December 1954, Indianapolis (IN) Star, “That Reminds Me!” by James E. Farmer, pg. 17, col. 2:
(Jim—ed.) Dilley, by the way, is the author of a prize gag about the stock situation of a man eating soup in a restaurant. Dilley’s diner yells, “Waiter, there’s a F-L-Y in my alphabet soup!”

Newspapers.com
27 April 1972, Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA), “Stepping Out” by Tedd Thomey, pg. C-3, col. 3:
AND THERE’S STILL ANOTHER VERSION OF THAT AGE-OLD RESTAURANT JOKE—“Waiter, what’s this fly doing in my alphabet soup?”
“Probably learning to read, sir.”

Google Books
August 1980, Boys’ Life, “Think & Grin,” pg. 65. col. 2:
Customer: Waiter, what is this fly doing in my alphabet soup?
Waiter: Probably learning to read, sir.—Derek Johnson, Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Newspapers.com
21 December 1980. Newsday (Long Island, NY), “Smiles,” Kidsday sec., pg. I9, col. 3:
Customer: What is this fly doing in my alphabet soup?
Waiter: Probably learning to read, sir.
—Alex Freitag, Center Moriches

Google Books
April 1981, Boys’ Life, “Think & Grin,” pg. 74. col. 2:
Customer: Waiter, there’s a fly in my alphabet soup.
Waiter: Well, throw it an “O” before it drowns. — Robert Terrell, Louisville, Ky.

Newspapers.com
30 July 1987, Boscobel (WI) Dial, “Under the bridge,” pg. 1, col. 1:
OVERHEARD in a restaurant: Diner: “Waiter, there’s a fly drowning in my alphabet soup.” Waiter: “Tell him to stick his head through an ‘O’ and use it as a life preserver.”

Google Books
The Bathroom Joke Book
By Russ Edwards
Saddle River, NJ: Red-Letter Press
1993
Pg. ?
“Waiter, what’s this fly doing in my alphabet soup?”
“Seems like he’s sending an S.O.S.”

Google Groups: alt.food.professionals
Waiter, There is a Fly in my Soup!!
newsgroups
May 19, 1999, 3:00:00 AM
(...)
“Waiter, what is this fly doing in my alphabet soup?”“Learning to read Sir!!”

Google Groups: alt.humor.puns
Specialty Puns of the Weak 02-17-04
Stan Kegel
Feb 17, 2004, 3:39:11 AM
(...)
“Waiter, what is this fly doing in my alphabet soup?”
“Learning to read?” (Paul Dickson)

Twitter
Ken Carr
@kencarr
I wonder if the National Spelling Bee on ABC tonight will be sponsored by Alphabits cereal, alphabet soup, & Hooked On Phonics…
9:03 PM · May 28, 2009·Twitter SMS

Twitter
RobinDfish
@RobinDfish
“Waiter, there’s a fly in my alphabet soup.” “Quick, throw him an O.”
1:01 PM · Nov 1, 2009·Twitter SMS

Twitter
louie louie
@avaiIable
Waiter, there is a bee in my alphabet soup! Yes sir, and Im sure there is an A, C and all the other letters too!
2:18 AM · Jan 16, 2010·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
angeles_rebarch
@angeles_rebarch
Waiter, there is a bee in my alphabet soup ! Yes sir, and I’m sure there is an A, C and all the other letters too !
6:11 PM · Jan 27, 2010·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
jim burney
@jim_burney
“Waiter, there is a bee in my alphabet soup !Yes sir, and I’m sure there is an A, C and all the other letters too !”
8:01 AM · Jan 28, 2010·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Chaddah@Chaddah·
Jun 2, 2010
Replying to @tanyaemery
@tanyapereira what would I serve at a spelling bee tailgate? Alphabet soup, alpha-bits cereal…pretty limited

Twitter
Donnie Peeler
@donniepeeler
I saw a fly in my alphabet soup at lunch so I threw him an O.
5:22 PM · Mar 18, 2011·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Spadz81
@Spadz81
Alphabet soup…just another step closer to winning the Spelling Bee
5:51 PM · Feb 21, 2012·Twitter for Android

Google Books
Jokelopedia:
The Biggest, Best, Silliest, Dumbest Joke Book Ever!
By Eva Blank, Alison Benjamin, Rosanne Green, Ilana Weitzman and Lisa Sparks
New York, NY: Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
2013
Pg. 147:
CUSTOMER: Waiter, there’s a fly in my alphabet soup!
WAITER: That’s no fly, that’s a spelling bee.

Twitter
Carolina De Luna-Vargas
@CaroDMoon
I just ate alphabet soup, I suddenly feel like I could win a spelling bee.
11:24 PM · Mar 14, 2013·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
cris garcia
@Blvd_Cris
The only spelling bee I won was on the on my alphabet soup mama used to make!
2:37 AM · Jun 7, 2013·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Mikeski
@Loslocos92
What kind of bee buzzes around your alphabet soup? Don’t know? Why of course a spelling bee!
1:26 PM · Dec 4, 2013 from San Marcos, TX·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
KATIE S
@AvajaneKatie
Customer: theres a fly in my alphabet soup
Waiter: that’s no fly its just a spellling bee
8:19 PM · Feb 18, 2014·Twitter for Android

Twitter
olivia whillock
@owhillock
customer: waiter, there’s a fly in my alphabet soup!
waiter: that’s no fly, that’s a spelling bee
12:56 PM · Oct 5, 2014·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Freddie Walker
@onelinerguy57
I wonder if serving alphabet soup at a spelling bee would be redundant.
@FoodHumour
7:51 PM · Aug 16, 2015·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Tait Brown
@TaitBrown
@midnight #RuinASoup The fly in my alphabet soup is using the letter O as a life jacket.
12:25 AM · Feb 5, 2015·Twitter for Android

Twitter
Titus Smith
@titusmith
How is Alphabet Soup not a sponsor of the Spelling Bee?
12:33 PM · May 26, 2016·Twitter for Mac

Twitter
Tait Michael Brown
@slamman140
#ConfuseAWaiter There is a fly in my Alphabet Soup but its ok its using the letter O as a llife preserver.
6:50 PM · Aug 20, 2016 from Windsor, Ontario·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Andrew Baumgartner
@abaum327
Just 25 days before the National Spelling Bee, reigning 2018 champion Karthik Nemmani tests positive for alphabet soup. What a shame.
7:05 AM · May 3, 2019·Twitter for Android

Twitter
Jokeio
@goJokeio
Waiter, there is a bee in my alphabet soup !
Yes sir, and I’m sure there is an A, C and all the other letters too ! #waiterjokes #jokes #funny
9:33 AM · May 2, 2021·Pipedream, Inc

Twitter
Rick Allen
@imprimetym
are you allowed to eat alphabet soup at a spelling Bee?
10:42 PM · Aug 16, 2021·Twitter Web App

Reddit—Dadjokes
Posted by u/Joesdad65 September 9, 2021
What kind of bee hovers over a bowl of alphabet soup?
A spelling bee

“Waiter, there’s a fly drowning in my alphabet soup.”/“Throw him an ‘O’ as a life preserver.”