Tag Archives: folk speech

Pumpkin Head Joke

Age: 20s

(1) text

Informant: A man walks into a bar with a giant pumpkin for a head. The bartender says, “Hey, you’re walking around with a giant pumpkin for a head. How come you have a giant pumpkin for a head? The man with a giant pumpkin head sits down at the bar and he says, “Well, it’s a long story. But I’ll tell it to you. You’re not going to believe this. But the story starts with, I found a genie in a bottle.” Bartender goes, “Then what happened?” He goes, “Well, I found this genie, and he came out of the bottle and he says, ” you freed me from this bottle, and I’m offering you three wishes.” The bartender is amazed. He’s going, “Well, okay, what happened next?” He goes, well, then, for my first wish, I wish for the most money in the world. I wished for like 100,000 billion dollars. Bartender’s like, oh my God, what happened? He’s like, well, I looked at my bank account. You’re not going to believe what was there. It was $100,000 billion dollars. I was the richest man in the world. The bartender was just floored by this. He goes, “For my second wish, I wish for like the most gorgeous woman in the world to be my wife. Not only someone who was attractive, but someone who could challenge me and I could fall in love with and stay in love. The bartender was like, okay, well, then what happened? He goes, well, then you’re not going to believe who showed up.” The most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen. And she was smart and talented and funny, and she challenged me, and she proposed to me on the spot, and we’ve been married ever since. Bartender goes, ” oh, my God, this is an amazing story. What happened next? What happened to your for your third wish? And he goes, “Well my third wish is where I really blew it.” Bartender goes, well, what happened?” He goes, “Well, I wished for like a giant pumpkin head.” 

(2) context

The informant explains that growing up in New York, this joke was a common occurrence at family gatherings. The first time he was told it was by an uncle at a family dinner. He later accounts hearing it told by Super Dave Osborn and Norm McDonald.

(3) analysis

The joke follows a traditional structure, starting with “A man walks into a bar…” The joke subverts expectations with the added element of a pumpkin on his head. What makes the joke effective and ultimately gets a laugh from the audience is the long, drawn-out explanation that builds anticipation from the audience as they wait to hear the punch line. They expect something wild to have happened for the man to end up in this position. Instead, they are met with the most obvious answer. The punchline then makes the joke an anti-joke of sorts.

“Targeé” aka Target

Text:

Interviewee: “My mom calls Target ‘Targeé,’ usually when she’s super excited to go to Targeé.”

Interviewer: “My mom says that too! Does anyone else in your family say it?”

Interviewee: “No, just my mom. I think it’s a middle-aged woman thing.”

Context:

This came up in a folklore class discussion about minor folk speech and family language. The interviewer noted that both their mom and the interviewee’s mom say “Targeé,” showing how different and silly pronunciations can run in multiple families.

Analysis:

This story is an example of family-based folk speech. “Targeé” makes the generic name more fun and seems to be a middle-aged woman thing.

Itch Saying Folklore

Age: 39
Hometown: Enid, Oklahoma
Location: Oklahoma

Context:
My dad was born and raised in Oklahoma and often heard these phrases from older family members and friends.

Content:
“If nose is itching someone’s thinking about you”

and

“If palms are itching you’re about to get some money”

Analysis:
These sayings show how people try to turn random body sensations into signs of something bigger, especially things they care about like money or relationships. The idea that an itchy nose means someone is thinking about you or that itchy palms are a signal that money is incoming, reflects a relationship between the body and external outcomes.

The short and memorable nature of these phrases allows for them to be passed down through generations. The fact that they also seem to be regionally specific to Oklahoma highlight that certain beliefs are more common in specific areas due to demographics such as race, class, and gender.

Ears Ringing Folklore

Age: 39
Hometown: Enid, OK
Location: Oklahoma

Context:
My dad told me this when I told him that my ears were ringing one day. He is originally from Oklahoma but now lives in the Bay Area, CA. He told me that he heard this saying from his parents as well as other older relatives and family friends.

Content:
“If your ears are ringing someone is talking about you”

Analysis:
This is a folk belief that links a physical sensation and social meaning. It’s interesting how something completely random like your ears ringing can be turned into something social. This saying also reinforces awareness of social relationships, even when the people involved are not present. Overall, it shows how folklore assigns significance to ordinary experiences to make them feel connected to a larger social world.

Midwest Family Food – Familial Folk Speech

Context:

My informant is a 20-year-old student at the University of Southern California. She currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri, but she has also lived on the East Coast. Her mom’s family is Mexican and she spent a large portion of her childhood in Texas living near the border.

Text:

“When I was growing up, whenever my grandma, my mom’s mother, would come to visit from Texas, she would bring a carry-on full of frozen tamales and Mexican cookies from where she lived. These were tamales and cookies from the place my mom used to go when she lived in Texas. We’d call it “The Food Suitcase,” and it was something she always did until she passed away.”

Analysis:

This familial folk speech is used to describe this family ritual of packing a suitcase full of tamales and cookies, a food way or material folklore. This term “The Food Suitcase” became a repeated phrase used in their household to refer to the item. The phrase held emotional and sentimental value to the family.