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Original poster

Have I misunderstood this joke my whole life?

122 replies

AhBiscuits · 29/12/2023 18:39

Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to the other side.

My understanding: The chicken wanted to die. It knew it would get flattened and therefore cross to the other side.

A friend said that I have this all wrong and the chicken literally just wanted to cross the road. It's sort of a groan inducing non joke.

Who is right?

OP posts:
MorningSunshineSparkles · 29/12/2023 19:17

Thinking about it your way has made me suddenly irrationally sad Confused I always thought it meant to get to the other side of the road!

Thingsthatgo · 29/12/2023 19:23

I thought that the joke was that it could mean either... the other side of the road or death. Because that is how jokes often work.... 2 meanings of the same phrase/word.

fancyfrogs · 29/12/2023 19:23

Your understanding of it has made me chuckle. I have never thought about it being about a suicidal chicken before

Rosiiee · 29/12/2023 19:24

Wait what??? I always thought your version was the correct one?? I’m shook!

Silvers11 · 29/12/2023 19:24

Your friend is right!!@ANightmareBeforeChristmas - You have over thought this for years. It's a sort of non-joke really

carbon60 · 29/12/2023 19:29

On dear

AfraidToRun · 29/12/2023 19:32

suicidal chicken for me

LaughingCat · 29/12/2023 19:35

@AhBiscuits - yours is the best interpretation of the joke I’ve ever heard. I’ve always assumed it was the same as your friend’s but I’m choosing your version now instead!

TheFifthTellytubby · 29/12/2023 19:38

I did ask one of my chickens this once, but she just looked at me as if I was an idiot and said "buk buk" so I was none the wiser.

RichardMarxisinnocent · 29/12/2023 19:38

ANightmareBeforeChristmas · 29/12/2023 19:07

Boswell was solved in the end 😊

Show quote history

Was it??? I must have missed that, where can I see the solution pleasssee???

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 29/12/2023 19:40

I think the longevity of the chicken riddle is due to its double meaning.

IcedupTulip · 29/12/2023 19:41

Greentomatoes21 · 29/12/2023 18:40

I always thought the same as your friend but now I am doubting myself!!

Me too!

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 29/12/2023 19:41

TheFifthTellytubby · 29/12/2023 19:38

I did ask one of my chickens this once, but she just looked at me as if I was an idiot and said "buk buk" so I was none the wiser.

Duh!!! She was obviously telling you to go to the library to look it up in a couple of relevant volumes Grin

topcat2014 · 29/12/2023 19:43

I thought everyone worked out, when adult, that this was to do with the Catholic faith?

And hence why it never meant much to children but we all learned it as one of our first jokes, and then also learned to laugh..

ANightmareBeforeChristmas · 29/12/2023 19:50

RichardMarxisinnocent · 29/12/2023 19:38

Was it??? I must have missed that, where can I see the solution pleasssee???

Show quote history

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4156434-This-puzzle-answer-is-ridiculous-right

notforonesecond · 29/12/2023 19:52

Well it’s both isn’t it? That’s the point.

It crossed the road to get to the other side of the road and in the process, likely got flattened.

The double meaning is what makes it a (not very good) joke.

CandyLeBonBon · 29/12/2023 19:53

Both are correct and that's the beauty of the joke.

Riverlee · 29/12/2023 19:54

I always thought it was innocent, but not any longer… You could be right!

bellac11 · 29/12/2023 19:55

Greentomatoes21 · 29/12/2023 18:40

I always thought the same as your friend but now I am doubting myself!!

Oh me too.

So now what is it?

bellac11 · 29/12/2023 19:58

MoralOrLegal · 29/12/2023 19:00

Sorry to bring, y'know, facts into this, but it was first recorded as an example of a non-joke...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_did_the_chicken_cross_the_road

Phew!

Thank god for facts

Speedweed · 29/12/2023 20:00

Your version can't be right - a suicidal chicken is not trying to get to the other side, ie cross safely. The punch line to your version would be something like 'to smear himself across the front of a lorry'.

The groan inducing friend version is correct - the build up is that chickens don't deliberately cross roads with an intent of any sort, so to try and make sense of the joke, we have to ascribe the chicken with logic and intent, so that's funny, and in the punchline, the chicken to which we have ascribed human rationality and intent through the build up is actually revealed to just want to get to the other side, ie it's just a random chicken-level impulse.

Goddammit, I'm having another snowball for coming up with that.

Elfeatenbydog · 29/12/2023 20:02

Oh I’d never considered the first option! Not sure if I should feel embarrassed now that I really like this follow up joke..

Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide.

Original poster
AhBiscuits · 29/12/2023 20:11

Speedweed · 29/12/2023 20:00

Your version can't be right - a suicidal chicken is not trying to get to the other side, ie cross safely. The punch line to your version would be something like 'to smear himself across the front of a lorry'.

The groan inducing friend version is correct - the build up is that chickens don't deliberately cross roads with an intent of any sort, so to try and make sense of the joke, we have to ascribe the chicken with logic and intent, so that's funny, and in the punchline, the chicken to which we have ascribed human rationality and intent through the build up is actually revealed to just want to get to the other side, ie it's just a random chicken-level impulse.

Goddammit, I'm having another snowball for coming up with that.

A suicidal chicken is trying to get to the other side, the other side being the after life.

OP posts:
PostChristmasPaunch · 29/12/2023 20:12

Suicidal chicken?

Mind blown.

AllIsWellish · 29/12/2023 20:24

I'm more amused that so many people never thought of it being the other side as in after life