Joke for the day

So, a bear walks into a bar and says:

'I'll have a gin and..........................tonic'.

The barman says' Why the big pause?'. The bear replies 'I've always had them.'

This is example of a large group of joke, common in many English speaking cultures, where someone or something walks into a bar- this is called the set up (for underlined words about humour there is a glossary below) and something happens, usually a short conversation involving the barman. These jokes are usually one-liners, although there are longer forms.


Jokes like this nearly always involve an improbable set up and like the joke at the top often invoke some kind of pun, are corny, and may have a misunderstanding of similar sounding words in the punch-line. The sillier they are the better.


An example of similar word silliness:


A group of fonts walk into a bar. The barman shouts 'Get out, we don't want your type in here'.
The first joke uses the mix up of the word 'pause' (a short stop in an action) and the word 'paws' (the feet of bears, cats dogs etc- having claws and pads). 
The second uses the fact that 'font' and 'type' have a similar meaning ('your type' means that you are in some way bad).


Often these jokes are meant to get a reaction like a groan or a cringe rather than a laugh.


There are jokes which use the 'A man walks into a bar' set up as a type of anti-joke, gives them a post-modernist, bathetic, or crude twist. A example of an anti-joke is based on the well know joke.

A horse walks into a bar. The barman says 'why the long face?'  

The anti-joke version:

A horse walks into a bar. The barman says 'why the long face?' The horse who is unable to understand English shits on the floor.


Combining stereotypical characters from other types of jokes i.e. 'An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman', into the 'bar' joke we get a post-modernistic ironic mixture.


An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman walk into a bar. The barman says 'Is this some kind of a joke?'
Obviously, humour is very much based on culture and does not easily translate and so I won't analyse these jokes anymore than I already have. 

For more 'Man walks into a bar' jokes see: http://www.manwalksintoajoke.com/bars


Finally, it's worth noting that all these jokes use the present tense. We do this when we want to give a story, and jokes in particular, a sense of being more immediate or real.

• Please post any of you favourite jokes in the Comments section.

All the definitions below relate to humour and can have other meanings depending on the context,


Set up- verb and noun. The way something is planned, organised or arranged.

One-liner- noun. A short joke. Sometimes a single sentence.

Pun- verb and noun. A play with words. Usually involving words with similar sounds and meanings

Corny- adjective. Silly. Unsophisticated. Obvious.

Punch-line- noun (could be used as a verb). The end part of the joke that contains the funny content.

Groan- verb and noun. A deep sound which expresses pain or disbelief.

Cringe- verb and noun. A facial movement of embarrassment or distaste.

Anti-Joke- verb. A joke which is deliberately not funny which may mock other types of jokes.

Post-modernist- adjective. A self-conscious way of mixing other art forms.

Bathetic- adjective. Moving from a high level (of humour in this case) to a deliberate anti-climax.

Twist- verb and noun. Change the direction of where you expect the joke to go.

Ironic- adjective. Humour which contradicts what you expect.