Sometimes jokes can be hard to read in another language. Jokes use different things to make them funny. Some jokes use a play on words. Sometimes it's hard to understand jokes that use a play on words if it is in another language. Here are some examples of jokes that use a play on words to make them funny and an explanation of them.
==>Did you hear about the cat who swallowed a ball of wool? She had mittens.
This joke is funny because it plays on the word mittens and kittens. Normally, a cat has kittens (baby cats). Mittens are types of fingerless gloves you wear when it's cold. They are often made of wool. Kittens and mittens sound very much alike and are spelled alike except for the first letter.
==>What do you get when you cross a chick with an alley cat? A peeping Tom.
This joke is funny because it plays on the term "a peeping Tom." A peeping Tom is someone who looks in windows of other people's houses. An alley cat is often called a Tom cat. The sound a chick (a little chicken) makes is called peeping. "To cross" here means to mix together or to mate two things.
==>Why don't cats play poker in the jungle? Too many cheetahs.
This joke uses a pronunciation play on words. Poker is a card game, and sometimes people cheat at it. You wouldn't want to play poker if there were too many cheaters. The word "cheetah" means a large spotted cat from Africa. The word cheetah sounds very similar to the word cheater.
==>What does a cat do when it gets mad? It throws a hissy fit.
One of the sounds cats make is a hiss. They often will sound like this when they are mad. A person who gets mad and who shows it by stomping their feet or some other silly thing is throwing a hissy fit. Another word for a hissy fit is a temper tantrum or just a tantrum. A hissy fit or temper tantrum is usually something children do. If you say an adult is throwing a hissy fit, it means they are acting like a child.
Can you answer these questions?
- What do some jokes use to make them funny?
- What is a play on words?
- What word does mittens sound and look like?
- What do cats normally have?
- What does the term "peeping Tom" mean?
- What sound to chicks make?
- What word does "cheetah" sound like?
- What is one sound cats make when they are mad?
- What's another term for a temper trantrum?
- If you tell an adult they are throwing a hissy fit, will they be happy you said that?