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Further in my collection of posts you won’t find in a coursebook, and nastiness we could do without (if it weren’t funny): I’ve just finished writing a quiz on using future tenses, and have saved the most sexually incorrect joke I could find for you.
“You’re ugly.”
“And you’re drunk.”
“Yes, but in the morning I ________ (be) sober.”
What do you think, is it also incorrect in terms of gender? I mean, the drunk person could be a woman.
7 Responses
I was reading it with the drunk person as a woman, although there is no reason why it has to be either way or even involve different sexes.
…true! Or why it should be about sex, come to think about it. Just read this interesting article on humor. “Humor is context-dependent. It depends, among other things, on the listener’s beliefs.” … “This “flickering” in the focus of attention — this active oscillating between these different but related belief sets — is humor.”
http://www.hughlafollette.com/papers/humor.htm
Gr8, gonna use it in my lesson tomorrow as a warmer.
May add “at least I ………. sober, but you are still ……… (be + adjective)”
Just for the added emphasis.
Ah, thanks Stew, now that’s interesting!
Compare:
1. I’ll be sober, but you’ll still be ugly. (two predictions)
2. I’ll be sober, but you’re still going to be ugly. (added emphasis)
You know what, Stew, if you add that bit of sentence, the joke is no longer funny, at least to me. Too much information. The pragmatics of humor.
Hi Anne,
but we all know that humour is horses for courses. My students prove the point. Nit entirely getting it without the addition, and the some, see below for their suggestion;
“You’re ugly.”
“And you’re drunk.”
“Yes, but at least in the morning I ________ (be) sober.
and you ………….. still look like you were hit by a bus”
I agree with you on the KISS quality of the original, but we do live in Germany where the humour is more direct and closer to the bone.
The final vote is in:
“You’re ugly.”
“And you’re drunk.”
“Yes, but in the morning
* I’ll be sober.” (89%, 16 votes)
* I’m going to be sober.” (11%, 2 votes)
Thanks for the discussion, Mark & Stew!