Understanding humour

[TheRedChamber]

The thing with it is that, I agree, on the surface, it's not that funny.

What I did find was genius about it (and I don't often use that word in relation to Family Guy) was that the writers had indeed crafted a joke where most (or at least many) men watch it and think that her actions have been written to be deliberately inexplicable and that the man hasn't in fact done anything, and most (or at least many) women can watch it and give a credible reason for her being upset (again, obviously the over-reaction is played for laughs)

Most people on the thread aren't whining. The majority opinion seems to be 'aw shucks, ya got me'.

 

[12oclocktales]

There's subtlety and then there's cluelessness.

This joke popped on one of the Jokes threads on Lit a few months ago:

I met a girl at a bar and we went back to her place and started making out on the sofa, After a bit, she gave me a sly look and said, “I think we should take this upstairs.”

I said, "Okay, you carry one end and I’ll get the other, be careful getting through the doorframe, and we’ll come back down for the cushions."

 

[Kumquatqueen]

There's subtlety and then there's cluelessness.

This joke popped on one of the Jokes threads on Lit a few months ago:

I met a girl at a bar and we went back to her place and started making out on the sofa, After a bit, she gave me a sly look and said, “I think we should take this upstairs.”

I said, "Okay, you carry one end and I’ll get the other, be careful getting through the doorframe, and we’ll come back down for the cushions."

Now I'm seeing a new version of the Right, Said Fred song...

(Video with Lego figures here)

 

[StillStunned]

Now I'm seeing a new version of the Right, Said Fred song...

(Video with Lego figures here)

I thought you were referring to an entirely different Right Said Fred song.

 

[samhasstories]

I thought you were referring to an entirely different Right Said Fred song.

I thought that was the only Right Said Fred song.

 

[AlinaX]

There's the modern controversy with the song "Baby It's Cold Outside". Today it's a really cringey song. But from what people say about how courtship worked back then, it was more understood that the woman had to play the game and push back enough to not be seen as easy.

I kind of get why people might misinterpret this song, but only by taking it out of context. Play much of our modern stuff to people sixty years ago and they'd be horrified.

 

[Lbethy]

Im the only geek who thought there might be a maths joke in there did not get the hidden girly message at all

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Me and my boyfriend (at the time) were sitting on one side of a table in a pub. Our guy friend was sitting across from us. Behind him was a very social table. At one point a fifth member joined their table and one of the girls there turns around and asks our friend in a very warm and engaging tone if anyone was using the empty chair next to him. He says, "naw, nobody, go ahead, take it." Instantly her face turns to disappointment and she shrugs it off and takes the chair.

I leaned over and I said, "wtf dude? she was asking if she could sit next to you, she likes you!!!!"

Yes, she did need the chair anyways, but she was really asking if she could sit at our table and that went right over his head.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

It’s very simple, gentlemen. Really.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Me and my boyfriend (at the time) were sitting on one side of a table in a pub. Our guy friend was sitting across from us. Behind him was a very social table. At one point a fifth member joined their table and one of the girls there turns around and asks our friend in a very warm and engaging tone if anyone was using the empty chair next to him. He says, "naw, nobody, go ahead, take it." Instantly her face turns to disappointment and she shrugs it off and takes the chair.

I leaned over and I said, "wtf dude? she was asking if she could sit next to you, she likes you!!!!"

Yes, she did need the chair anyways, but she was really asking if she could sit at our table and that went right over his head.

You what? Happens all the time in crowded pubs over here, people asking if the empty chair can be taken. Since when was that a hidden code? That's plain English, over here in Australia.

I need a lesson in the courting habits of North Americans, clearly.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

You what? Happens all the time in crowded pubs over here, people asking if the empty chair can be taken. Since when was that a hidden code? That's plain English, over here in Australia.

I need a lesson in the courting habits of North Americans, clearly.

It wasn't the words themselves. It was in her tone, the look in her eye. It wasn't "Hey we need an extra chair over here. Do you mind?" She looked him in the eye all sweet and warm and when he didn't catch on, she almost pouted, kinda shook her head. She liked him. She was trying to flirt.

The secret code is when you're all hanging out and drinking, and you get flirty with a guy, you pull the tab off of your can of beer and slip it into his hand. That's the green light code to let him know that he can have you.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It wasn't the words themselves. It was in her tone, the look in her eye. It wasn't "Hey we need an extra chair over here. Do you mind?" She looked him in the eye all sweet and warm and when he didn't catch on, she almost pouted, kinda shook her head. She liked him. She was trying to flirt.

The secret code is when you're all hanging out and drinking, and you get flirty with a guy, you pull the tab off of your can of beer and slip it into his hand. That's the green light code to let him know that he can have you.

Ahh, got you. Sounds like she needed to lift her flirting game then?

The thing is though, if he got the codes all wrong, can you imagine the pile-on he'd cop if he'd completely misread the message, and all she wanted was the chair? It can be a no win for men, especially given current day "delicacies" of behavior.

What happens if it's all a bit more upmarket? You know, a decent wine bar or beer in bottles, no cans? Classy Miss Pink, huh?

 

[pink_silk_glove]

What happens if it's all a bit more upmarket? You know, a decent wine bar or beer in bottles, no cans? Classy Miss Pink, huh?

Teenagers at a wine bar? : P

How about if I just took the cork from the bottle and sucked on it. Would that make me a corksucker? Would that be an appropriate green light? : P

 

[lanceGibs]

Teenagers at a wine bar? : P

How about if I just took the cork from the bottle and sucked on it. Would that make me a corksucker? Would that be an appropriate green light? : P

Is Corky a surname in the Midlands?

 

[Bodington]

This thread reminds me of a joke which I saw fit to insert in one of my submissions. It goes like this:

A young man in California was inspecting the house he had just inherited from his grandmother. In the attic he spotted a lamp, and so he rubbed it. Sure enough, out popped a genie who happily exclaimed, “Oh thank you my young master for freeing me from my thousand years captivity. For your reward I can grant you one wish. What will it be?

“One wish? What happened to the traditional three wishes?”

“Don’t be so greedy? We genies have successfully negotiated with the powers that be, that we need only to grant one wish to secure our freedom. So, again what do you wish?”

The young man answered, “Well I’ve always desired to visit Hawaii. But I’m terrified of flying, and I get seasick whenever I’m on a ship on the high seas. So, why don’t you build me a bridge say from San Diego to one of the islands so that I can simply drive there.”

The genie was aghast as he replied, “Oh come on! Let’s be reasonable. Do you know how many permits I have to pull before I can even start constructing? Never mind the environmental impact study I have to present before I can even apply for the permits. So get real and ask for a realistic wish.”

The young man replied, “Well OK then. Listen I truly love women and love to get intimate with them. But I seem to strike out every time as I seem to be continuously saying the wrong thing. So I wish you divulge to me the secret of understanding women.”

The genie pondered for some time as he was nervously rubbing his beard. Finally he said, “Would you be satisfied with two lanes, or do you insist on four lanes?”

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I thought that was the only Right Said Fred song.

They did multiple albums - Deeply Dippy and Don't Talk Just Kiss are their other famous singles.

I saw them live once - Richard's black PVC trousers split. We thought it was part of the act, but after he got really pissed off with everyone going "You're too sexy for your trousers!" and he let the crew gaffer tape up his arse, we realised it wasn't.

 

[samhasstories]

You what? Happens all the time in crowded pubs over here, people asking if the empty chair can be taken. Since when was that a hidden code? That's plain English, over here in Australia.

I need a lesson in the courting habits of North Americans, clearly.

I've asked for and been asked for empty chairs many times in America, and the plan has always clearly been to remove them to a different table if they're available. Though I guess if asked in the right tone...

 

[TheLobster]

I've asked for and been asked for empty chairs many times in America, and the plan has always clearly been to remove them to a different table if they're available. Though I guess if asked in the right tone...

It'd have to be a hell lot of a flirtatious tone to overcome the obvious assumptions. I mean, the girl was coming from another table where (presumably) she already had company. Why should the guy think she wanted to abandon them out of the blue?

 

[ElectricBlue]

It'd have to be a hell lot of a flirtatious tone to overcome the obvious assumptions. I mean, the girl was coming from another table where (presumably) she already had company. Why should the guy think she wanted to abandon them out of the blue?

I personally find the coding in cafes is much easier. There's a certain tilt of the head when a woman looks up, then looks back down. It's best when the smile is subconscious, followed by realisation, and I have actually seen the hair play with fingers thing, although that can desperation or wishful thinking, I'm never sure.

 

[Britva415]

can you imagine the pile-on he'd cop if he'd completely misread the message, and all she wanted was the chair?

A playful, inviting "No, make yourself at home!" might strike out and fall flat, but it wouldn't (shouldn't) provoke a pile-on. This is part of the flirt game too. Again, it's not the words, it's the delivery, and if the guy saying this makes it clear with his delivery that flirting is all it is and he isn't putting any stakes at all on whether she sits with him or not, or even takes the chair away, as long as he's casual and offhand about it and not intense, creepy, sleazy, or clearly desperate for success with the line, she can ignore the flirt and take the chair with no hard feelings on either side.

Or maybe she does have hard feelings. Just another bit of ignorable unwanted attention just like all the rest of the times she's ever been out to a bar. Or she's free to go ahead and take him up on the invitation, which might have been what she was after all along, or might not have been, but, maybe he got her attention and she likes what she sees. At any rate, this doesn't trigger pile-ons unless he comes off as exceptionally boorish about it. It's not like he said "sit on my face." Or "lap."

Most guys wouldn't do any such thing right in front of their own girlfriend sitting right there, even if they totally understood they were being flirted with, but I don't know the ins and outs of that relationship.

 

[Lifestyle66]

Teenagers at a wine bar? : P

How about if I just took the cork from the bottle and sucked on it. Would that make me a corksucker? Would that be an appropriate green light? : P

Corks? That's juvenile. My wife would just suck the top of the bottle.

But some people are just clueless.

 

[Handley_Page]

I thought you were referring to an entirely different Right Said Fred song.

That#'s a song far better observed with no sound. . . .

 

[nice90sguy]

plain English, over here in Australia

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