Tag Archives: Joke

“Who’s ‘we,’ you got a frog in your pocket?

Nationality: Dallas, TX
Age: 20
Language: English

Context:

When someone refers to an ambiguous, undefined “we” in conversation, one would pose the question: “who’s ‘we,’ you got a frog in your pocket?”

Origin:

The informant learned this humorous saying from her dad, who himself learned it from his law school roommate. Though he attended law school in Dallas, Texas, the person who introduced it to him hailed from Southern California.

Interpretation:

Though this saying seems nonsensical, it allows asker to pose the question “who is ‘we’?” without the natural implication of suspicion or aggression that might be invoked by the question by itself. Similarly undercutting tension, it reminds the person being asked that they have neglected to provide relevant details in a manner that is humorous and non-accusatory.

Hindi Joke: Randi rona mat kar

Text: रंडी रोना मत कर

Romanization: Randi rona mat kar

Transliteration: randi → whore / rona mat kar → don’t cry

Transcription: Don’t cry, whore

Translation: Don’t cry, whore

Context: My informant – a 20-year-old international student from Kolkata, India – explained to me that this is a common Hindi phrase spoken in India. When translating it for me, he said that it means “a prostitute crying” and it is an inappropriate jab that he and his friends use towards each other. He has heard it most in North India and has described it as slang in Delhi and the Punjab region used in his age group. The jab is used when someone is perceived to be whining about something and the people around the whiner are fed up with it, so they call that person a whore and tell them not to cry. In recent years, he has also heard the phrase in the content of social media influencers, making it more widespread in his country.

Analysis: While prostitution is permitted in India, there is a large portion of the population that sees it as unethical and a violation of cultural values (Prostitution: Legality and Morality in India). In Hinduism, the dominant religion in India, marriage is believed to be a union made in Heaven, and when that marriage is completed on Earth, the marriage bond is believed to persist through seven lifetimes (Hindu Wedding Ceremony). Considering this, there are many who believe that prostitution is an insult to the sanctity of marriage, thus rendering the subject as taboo. In the phrase “randi rona mat kar,” you are explicitly calling someone a prostitute or a whore, pulling on language that is bound to reap discomfort given the perception of the profession in the culture. In the chapter “Jokes that Follow MassMediated Disasters in a Global Electronic Age” by Christie Davies, the author writes that “disaster jokes, like jokes about sex or race or, in some societies, religion or politics, are a way of playing with the forbidden for the sake of amusement” (32). Pulling on this analysis and the perception of prostitution in India, the utilization of “randi rona mat kar” is a way for young people to play with the sacredness of cultural values in an attempt to subvert or challenge traditional norms and beliefs. It serves as a medium for cultural defiance and pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable in their society. Additionally, my informant was adamant about the phrase only being used in his age group, and he also mentioned it becoming more widespread due to the Internet. Davies also writes that the Internet “stimulates the invention of disaster jokes and of death-of-a-celebrity jokes by providing templates for, encouraging emulation among, and granting legitimacy to disaster joke-tellers” (33). With this, I believe that the proliferation of “randi rona mat kar” among younger generations is a product of the Internet’s ability to disseminate information at a faster rate, and with that comes a larger amount of young people playing with a taboo topic that is bound to reestablish cultural norms.

References:

Davies, Christie. “Jokes that Follow MassMediated Disasters in a Global Electronic Age.” In Of Corpse: Death and Humor in Folklore and Popular Culture, edited by Peter Narvaez, 15-34. Utah State University Press, 2003.

Harsh, Garima. “Prostitution: Legality and Morality in India,” The Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/welfaremeasuresunderthefactoriesactacriticalappraisal/prostitution-legality-and-morality-in-india-55396/. 

“Hindu Wedding Ceremony,” Sikh and Dread Photography, https://www.sikhanddread.com/hindu-weddings#:~:text=In%20Hinduism%2C%20it%20is%20believed,life%20%E2%80%93%20the%20’Grihasthashram’. 

Grave Jokes: If your hand is bigger than your face, you have cancer

Text: If your hand is bigger than your face that means you have cancer.

Context: My informant – a 25-year-old man from Reno, Nevada – explained to me that this was a trick he learned while in middle school, and he proceeded to play it on his friends and siblings. He would bait his victims by saying “if your hand is bigger than your face that means you have cancer,” and when the gullible victim raised their hand to their face to see if their fingers and palm covered the entirety of their face, he would smack the back of their hand so that their face collided with the front of their hand. He would play on the common fear of people finding out they might have a brutal disease, and in an attempt to self-diagnose, he would leave them with a red, hand-shaped mark on their face.

Analysis: I remember falling for this trick a couple times as a child, and I fear I must admit I played it on some of my friends as well. When a young mind hears “if your hand is bigger than your face that means you have cancer,” the instant panic that you feel over potentially having a disease that has sparked lots of fear due to its brutality takes over, and you most definitely want to see if your hand if bigger than your face to know if you might be sick. After your hand collides with your face and your assailant laughs at their attack, you are left confused: trying to see if you have an incurable disease has only left you with knowledge that your nose is red and throbbing. In the chapter “Jokes that Follow MassMediated Disasters in a Global Electronic Age” by Christie Davies, the author writes that disaster jokes are “jokes felt to be funny because they are playing with someone else’s forbidden notions, albeit ones that are generically similar to those that are the basis of more familiar local disaster jokes” (31). If one was to find out that they had cancer, it would undoubtedly be a disaster, so the trick of telling someone that “if your hand is bigger than your face that means you have cancer” is a play on the common fear of something happening to them that they would never hope for.

My informant expressed that this was a prank he only really saw and played as a child, and as he got older, it vanished. This prank only being present among adolescents is telling of the impressionability of this age group. Cancer has been feared for a long time, but the majority of people know that it would take much more than measuring your face with your hand to receive a cancer diagnosis. Children, however, haven’t been exposed to much, and hearing they might have a disease they know little about prompts them to fall for a trick that is only meant to leave them embarrassed and unsure of their health. In hindsight, it’s clear that the prank’s allure lies not in its realism, but in its ability to tap into our primal fears and evoke an emotional response. It serves as a reminder of the innocence of youth, where even the most serious of topics can be reduced to a momentary source of amusement.

References:

Davies, Christie. “Jokes that Follow MassMediated Disasters in a Global Electronic Age.” In Of Corpse: Death and Humor in Folklore and Popular Culture, edited by Peter Narvaez, 15-34. Utah State University Press, 2003.

No Crowmouthing yourself

Context

“No Crowmouthing yourself” means to not say things like car crash, suicide, cardiac arrest, especially in correlation to anyone in the family. “Joking things like “I’m going to die” is definitely going to get me scolded by my grandparents even in a joking way, and they’d call that “crow mouthing.” big nono, not safe, and they’d give a whole lecture about how to be better in a well being since… they had it rough in their life,” reports my informant. Her parents and grandparents lived through many different wars, and thus they believe that dangerous things like swimming in the river, riding a roller coaster, or speaking of things related to death put your wellbeing at risk. In China, this proverb is used quite often and is a big theme in Chinese culture. Younger people tend to say it to themselves to scold themselves. 

An example of this proverb being used genuinely goes as follows:

Person 1: “Oh god, I have a flight this afternoon, I hope the plane won’t crash haha.”

Person 2: “Stop! Do not crowmouth yourself, saying plane crash is such a bad thing.”

However, later this proverb has evolved into a dark joke, akin to saying “Haha imma kill myself.” An example of it being used in this way goes as follows:

Person 1: “I’m going to die because of this assignment”

Person 2: “Haha, crow mouthing yourself, huh?”

As my informant says, “it’s a bit morbid but silly funny.” She believes because society has become more safe, “the past concerns of war, hunger, limits and so on don’t exist in this modern time in China,” and thus a proverb that may have held great weight in the past doesn’t scare the youth today.

Analysis

I find it interesting how proverbs can change from being held with great meaning to being used in a sarcastic joke. Perhaps a combination of a change in environment, like my informant said, and the fact that proverbs are typically widespread and are a collective knowledge have a hand in this evolution of the ways certain proverbs are used now.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Context

My informant had first heard this proverb in middle school, when a kid was sad and the teacher made a silly face. The environment got more lighthearted and the teacher used it as an example of how the proverb, “laughter is the best medicine,” works in action. They have noticed that it still works to this day, as they have found that usually when you try to make people laugh in an appropriate situation, the mood gets better. They notice laughter works too when they are feeling down.

Typically they use this proverb in friend settings when things seem sad. While the lesson in the proverb holds true, saying the proverb can also work, if said in a joking manner. 

My informant still believes in the proverb because they have seen it happen in real time and because it has happened to them. Their personal experience enforced their belief in the proverb.

Analysis

In comparison to some other proverbs said to children, like “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” and “actions speak louder than words”, “laughter is the best medicine” is surprisingly positive. This may be due to a more peaceful upbringing than in times of war. My informant told me that this proverb may have originated from the bible verse Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart does good, like medicine.” The more modern version may have been simplified to be understood easier by children.