Author Archives: Brandon Marcus

Joke – New York

“How is a sewer like a woman?”

– They both have “manholes”

My informant first heard this joke when at the age of seventeen (circa 1972) he was hanging out with his friend Ernie Murphy and he told my informant the joke.  The joke was told when both were living in New York City, a few years before they went their separate ways.  The informant learned the joke at the house of Ernie Murphy.  The two were playing some video games and my informant told Murphy a joke, so Murphy told my informant the joke.

This joke is a sexual one that is meant to compare a sewer to a woman’s private area.  This joke is not really told until someone reaches the age of 16 or 17 when he or she knows about sex and all that it encompasses.  The joke is told between two men for the sole reason that it would be extremely rude and awkward to make the above comparison.

The reason why this joke is important in my informant’s life is because of one reason: my informant is a CPA and gets really stressed, so a simple joke helps get rid of a little stress that my informant has.  This is why my informant is so jovial.  He has an extremely tough job so in order to live a life without anger, he decides to get rid of stress by telling jokes and laughing at them.  One little joke can go a long way in helping one’s health.

When asked his reaction to the joke, my informant states that he thinks the joke “has gotten old, but I keep telling it because young ‘whipper snappers’ like you have never heard it.”  It is very interesting to note the situation in which the joke was told.  My informant and I were on the couch, so he was relaxed which truly shows that jokes help my informant ease some stress.

My first reaction to this joke was laughing because I believe the joke is really funny.  Being 19 years old, I am old enough to understand the sexual jokes and I know that this isn’t the way you talk about a woman; however, this doesn’t take away from the fact that the joke is very funny.

Joke – American

“A Chinese guy, a white guy, and an Italian guy all get a job in a coal mine. The boss comes out and says,” I am going to be leaving for a few hours.  Before I get back, I need some lanterns, shovels, and supplies.  Chinese man, I want you to take care of the supplies.  White man, I want you to take care of the lanterns, and Italian man, I want you to take care of the shovels.”  Two hours later, the boss returns and awaiting him are two men: The American and the Italian. The boss asks where the Chinese man is and the two have no idea.  After 10 minutes of searching for the Chinese man, a man jumps out from behind the cave and yells “Supplies!”

My informant first heard this joke from a fraternity brother when in college at the University of Southern California.  The fraternity brother, Jimmy Houseberg, told my informant the joke one night at the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity house.  This is a joke that Jimmy heard from his friend Sam.  Therefore, this is a joke that has been passed down from a few generations.

This joke is a racist one that is meant to make of the way Asians talk.  There is a tendency of Asians who come to America to confuse their L’s and R’s.  Therefore, this joke makes sense because supplies really means surprise.  This joke is not really told until someone reaches the age of 15 when he or she knows about racism and how the joke is something that is done in jest.  The joke is told between two Americans for the sole reason that it would be extremely racist to say the joke to an Asian.

The reason why this joke is important in my informant’s life is because of one reason: my informant is a CPA and gets really stressed, so a simple joke helps get rid of a little stress that my informant has.  This is why my informant is so jovial.  He has an extremely tough job so in order to live a life without anger, he decides to get rid of stress by telling jokes and laughing at them.  One little joke can go a long way in helping one’s health.

When asked his reaction to the joke, my informant states that he thinks the joke “is hysterical and after 25 years, I still laugh at it.”  It is very interesting to note the situation in which the joke was told.  My informant and I were on the couch, so he was relaxed which truly shows that jokes help my informant ease some stress.  One final note to make is that my informant tells this joke over four times a year, and every time he tells it, he starts laughing hysterically for over three minutes.

In conclusion, this is a joke that I find absolutely hysterical.  My father told it to me approximately five years ago, and he tells it every single year when he is in the mood to tell the joke.  Even though I have heard the joke so many times, I still find the joke really funny.  I do know it is racist, but then again, it is one of the funniest jokes I have ever heard.

Annotation:  This “Supplies Joke” was found at

http://www.nearlygood.com/joke/chinesesupplies.html

Joke – American

“There once was a man from Nantucket

Whose cock was so long he could suck it

He said with a grin as he whipped off his chin

If my ass was a cunt I could fuck it”

My informant first heard this joke from a fraternity brother when in college at the University of Southern California.  The fraternity brother, Jimmy Houseberg, told my informant the joke one night at the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity house.  My informant wasn’t sure how the second informant heard about the joke, but he did know that the joke has been passed down from a few generations.

This joke is very vulgar, but extremely hilarious at the same time.  It has a few words that are very inappropriate for anyone under the age of about 16; therefore, this joke can be classified as an adult joke.  The purpose of this joke is to pretend to tell a story, but in reality it is just a rhyming dirty joke.  The part of this rhyme that I find extremely unique is that all the body parts that are being described are ones of a male except for in the last sentence, but that sentence is just describing what the male wants his body part to be.

The reason why this joke is important in my informant’s life is because of one reason: my informant is a CPA and gets really stressed, so a simple joke helps get rid of a little stress that my informant has.  This is why my informant is so jovial.  He has an extremely tough job so in order to live a life without anger, he decides to get rid of stress by telling jokes and laughing at them.  One little joke can go a long way in helping one’s health.

When I interviewed my informant, I asked to hear a dirty joke, and he hesitated for a while because he didn’t want to say the joke, for the sole reason that he didn’t want it published.  Then once he obliged to tell a dirty joke, he couldn’t think of what the joke was.  Then finally the joke came to him and after saying the rhyme, he slammed the newspaper on a nearby table exclaiming, “Yes! I knew I could remember it!” When asked his reaction to the joke, my informant states that he thinks the joke “is a classic.”  It is very interesting to note the situation in which the joke was told.  My informant and I were on the couch, so he was relaxed which truly shows that jokes help my informant ease some stress.

When I first heard this joke I thought it was really funny because of all the vulgar words.  Also, I find it interesting how one joke can be so dirty, but at the same time so comedic.  I love how my informant can remember so many jokes.  It shows that my informant is a funny man and I am proud to have him as my father.

Joke – American

“With a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary at the synagogues marriage marathon, the Rabbi asked Moshe to take a few minutes and share some insight into how he managed to live with the same woman all these years.   Moshe replied to the congregation, “Well, I treated her with respect, spent money on her, but mostly I took her traveling on special occasions.”  The Rabbi inquired…… trips to where? “For our 25th anniversary, I took her to Beijing, China.”
The Rabbi then said, “What a terrific example you are to all husbands Moshe. Please tell the audience what you’re going to do for your wife on your 50th anniversary? “Moshe replies: “I’m going to go back and get her.”

My informant first heard this joke from a close friend, Fred Litzky, on Valentine’s Day.  Fred sent the joke to my informant as a Happy Valentine’s Day joke.  The interesting thing about this joke is that it was sent to my informant on Valentine’s Day, and the joke’s topic is love between a couple.  Ironically, there isn’t much love between the couple in this joke.  A side note to add is that Fred always sends my informant jokes, usually about three a week.

This joke is making fun of how hard a happy marriage is to find in today’s world.  The only happy marriage consists of a husband and wife being separated from each other for 25 years, according to this joke.  My view on this joke is that it is very funny, because as a man I have found that a good woman is so hard to find and this joke properly portrays the difficult of maintaining a strong relationship.

The reason why this joke is important in my informant’s life is because of one reason: my informant is a CPA and gets really stressed, so a simple joke helps get rid of a little stress that my informant has.  This is why my informant is so jovial.  He has an extremely tough job so in order to live a life without anger, he decides to get rid of stress by telling jokes and laughing at them.  One little joke can go a long way in helping one’s health.

When asked his reaction to the joke, my informant states that he thinks the joke “is really funny because as a married man for 26 years I know how hard it is to maintain a strong relationship.  This joke is perfect for Valentine’s Day.”

When I first heard this joke I didn’t really understand it because I was eating dinner and wasn’t really paying attention to my informant.  After telling the joke again, I finally understood it and laughed because it is funny to make fun of how hard it is to obtain a long marriage.

Folk Metaphor – Yiddish

“Kinder daffan hubben”

English translation- “For this abuse, I needed to have children”

My informant first heard this phrase at the age of twelve (circa 1967) when she would make fun of her mother in a playful way.  When a young teenager starts to make fun of his parents, with such words as “mom, you are getting old” or “dad, how’s that receding hairline,” the parent gives the response “kinder daffan hubben.”

This phrase is really meant to inform the child to lay off a little because without the parents, their wouldn’t be any you.  Sheryl said the phrase is very funny and generational.  When parents get “dissed” by their children, it is a funny expression.  You are supposed to take in the spirit that it is intended to be delivered.

The reason why this is so important in Sheryl’s world today is because she has two sons who love to give her a hard time and joke around with her.  Both of her sons act like smart asses with her and in this generation, the mother needs to just take the jokes and not make a big deal out of it.

Sheryl commented on the Yiddish language in general by stating that the funny thing about Yiddish is it is a language so full of expression that when you translate it, it loses so much of its expression.

Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Sheryl was spoken to in Yiddish during her childhood years and understood the language very well.  She knew it so well that she could talk the language fluently to anyone who understood her.  Now, as an adult, she does not speak the language anymore, so she has lost most of it.  But, with her two kids out of the house, she is eager to take a class of Yiddish, in hopes of being able to speak the Yiddish language again.

I think this phrase is one of the only Yiddish phrases that I have heard that actually pertains to my generation.  In my generation, parents are made fun of so often, that it makes sense for the parents to question “if this was the reason why I had kids.”  In conclusion, this is a Yiddish phrase that is very generational and pertains to everyone, including non-Jews.