Explanations and Extra Jokes
1. Can you name a country with no “R” in it?
- The person asks for a country name that does not have the letter “R.”
- The other person says, “No way!”, which means “I can’t do it!”
- But “Norway” is actually a country, and it has an “R” in it!
- The joke is funny because the answer sounds like a refusal, but it is also a real country name.
2. What do you call cheese that is not yours?
- “Nacho cheese” sounds like “Not your cheese.”
- “Nacho” is actually a type of food with melted cheese, but in this joke, it sounds like “Not yo’ (your) cheese.”
- The joke is funny because of the wordplay.
3. You shouldn’t fart in an Apple store.
Why not?
Because they don’t have windows.
- “Windows” has two meanings:
- Microsoft Windows (the computer software that competes with Apple).
- Real windows (openings in walls for fresh air).
- The joke is funny because Apple stores don’t sell “Windows” (the Microsoft product), but it also sounds like they don’t have actual windows to let air out!
4. Do you know what days are the strongest of the week?
Saturday and Sunday. The others are weak days.
- “Strongest” sounds like it means “physically strong.”
- But “weak days” sounds like “weekdays” (Monday to Friday).
- The joke is funny because “weak” (not strong) sounds the same as “week” (seven days).
5. I only know 25 letters of the alphabet.
I don’t know why.
- The English alphabet has 26 letters.
- The person says they only know 25 letters, and they don’t know “Y.”
- But “Y” is also a question word that means “why?”
- The joke is funny because it plays with the letter “Y” and the question word “why.”
6. I hate hotel towels! They are so thick and fluffy. I can’t even close my suitcase!
- The person first says something negative: “I hate hotel towels!”
- But the reason is actually good: the towels are “thick and fluffy” (soft and nice).
- The joke is funny because it tricks the listener. The person doesn’t really “hate” hotel towels—they just take up too much space in the suitcase!
7. What is the best thing about Switzerland?
I don’t know, but their flag is a big plus!
- The Switzerland flag has a big plus (+) sign.
- “A big plus” also means “a good thing.”
- The joke is funny because it plays with the two meanings of “plus.”
8. I told my wife she drew her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised!
- When someone draws their eyebrows too high, it looks like they are surprised.
- The joke is funny because her reaction (looking surprised) happens because of how her eyebrows are drawn.
9. What do you call a hippie’s wife?
Mississippi
- “Mississippi” is the name of a U.S. state.
- But if you split the word: “Mrs.” (a married woman) + “hippie” (a person who likes peace and nature), it sounds like “Mrs. Hippie.”
- The joke is funny because it plays with how the word sounds.
10. My friend David lost his ID. Now we just call him Dav.
- “ID” is short for “identification” but also the last two letters of “David.”
- If David loses his ID, his name looks like “Dav” instead of “David.”
- The joke is funny because it makes a silly connection between an ID card and the letters of his name.
11. Which is faster, hot or cold?
Hot is faster because it’s easy to catch cold.
- The joke is a pun (wordplay) on the phrase “catch a cold.”
- The question makes you think about speed (which one moves faster).
- But the answer uses the phrase “catch a cold”, which means to get sick with a cold (like when you sneeze and cough).
- The joke is funny because “catch” usually means to grab something moving fast, but “catch a cold” has nothing to do with speed—it just means getting sick.
- So, the joke tricks you by making you think “cold” is slow, but then switching to a totally different meaning of “catch.”
Extra Jokes!
Here are 10 fun and easy jokes that ESL students can enjoy and learn from:
1. Why did the student eat his homework?
Because the teacher said it was a piece of cake!
👉 Explanation: “A piece of cake” means “very easy,” but the student thought it was real cake!
2. Why don’t eggs tell jokes?
Because they might crack up!
👉 Explanation: “Crack up” means “laugh a lot,” but eggs also “crack” when they break.
3. Why did the math book look sad?
Because it had too many problems!
👉 Explanation: “Problems” means “math exercises,” but it can also mean “difficult situations in life.”
4. What do you call a sleeping bull?
A bulldozer!
👉 Explanation: A bull is an animal, and a bulldozer is a big machine. But “doze” means “sleep,” so a “sleeping bull” is a “bull-dozer”!
5. Why can’t your nose be 12 inches long?
Because then it would be a foot!
👉 Explanation: 12 inches equals 1 foot (a measurement), but “foot” is also part of your body!
6. Why did the computer go to the doctor?
Because it had a virus!
👉 Explanation: “Virus” means both a sickness for humans and a problem for computers.
7. Why can’t you give Elsa a balloon?
Because she will let it go!
👉 Explanation: This is a joke about Frozen, the movie. Elsa’s song is “Let It Go”, and “let go” also means “release” (like a balloon).
8. What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A gummy bear!
👉 Explanation: Gummy bears are soft candy. Gums are what you have when you have no teeth!
9. Why did the scarecrow win an award?
Because he was outstanding in his field!
👉 Explanation: “Outstanding” means “excellent,” but a scarecrow literally “stands out” in a field (a farm area).
10. Why did the tomato turn red?
Because it saw the salad dressing!
👉 Explanation: “Dressing” can mean salad sauce, but it also means changing clothes. The tomato is “embarrassed” because it saw the salad “getting dressed”!
11. Why don’t skeletons fight each other?
Because they don’t have the guts!
👉 Explanation: “Guts” means both bravery and internal organs. Skeletons have no organs, so they also have no “guts” to fight!
12. What do you call a fish with no eyes?
Fsh!
👉 Explanation: If you remove the letter “I” (sounds like “eye”), “fish” becomes “fsh”!
13. Why did the golfer bring an extra pair of pants?
In case he got a hole in one!
👉 Explanation: “Hole in one” is a perfect golf shot, but also means a hole in clothes.
14. What kind of music do mummies listen to?
Wrap music!
👉 Explanation: “Wrap” (covering something) sounds like “rap”, a type of music.
15. Why did the banana go to the doctor?
Because it wasn’t peeling well!
👉 Explanation: “Peeling well” sounds like “feeling well”, but bananas have peels!
16. Why can’t you trust an atom?
Because they make up everything!
👉 Explanation: “Make up” means both “create” (atoms create everything) and “lie”.
17. Why did the picture go to jail?
Because it was framed!
👉 Explanation: “Framed” means put in a picture frame, but it also means blamed for a crime.
18. Why did the cookie go to the doctor?
Because it felt crummy!
👉 Explanation: “Crummy” means both “bad” and “full of crumbs” (like a cookie).
19. What did the zero say to the eight?
“Nice belt!”
👉 Explanation: If you put a “belt” on a 0, it looks like an 8!
20. Why do cows have bells?
Because their horns don’t work!
👉 Explanation: “Horns” means both cow horns (on their heads) and car horns (which make noise).