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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:
JingleSnowmanTree · 30/12/2023 00:17

LittleMissSunshiner · 29/12/2023 23:20

Ohhhhh... I agree with your friend but now you mention it, I see, that's dark.

Why did the narcissist cross the road?

Because they thought it was a boundary

@LittleMissSunshiner

i like that one 😂😂

JingleSnowmanTree · 30/12/2023 00:19

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 30/12/2023 00:16

I don't know your nephew, but pound to a penny, he would change his favourite joke if you told him the Europe one:

Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Europe...

Show quote history

@FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper

Do you need a particular accent for that one?

youre up' is the best I can come up with, but it's not very funny... what am I missing ??

BahHumbugger · 30/12/2023 00:29

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 29/12/2023 18:46

It's a rubbish non-joke; but I'll gladly take it over Boswell any millennium.

Never mention Boswell

BahHumbugger · 30/12/2023 00:31

GoodVibesHere · 29/12/2023 18:45

I mean thinking about it, you'd tell it to a little kid and I recall seeing it in a kids joke book. So it's not about a suicidal chicken, it's just about the answer being the mundane and obvious i.e. crossing the road.

Like the other famous non-joke. What's brown and sticky?

Worriedmummy1991 · 30/12/2023 00:32

Hey everyone this might be a long post so please stay with me :)

I have a 10 month old little boy, I have always be worried about his speech and communication sense he was 5 months old as he has always been a quiet baby!

He started babbling at around 7 months old! Though he didnt do it very often He started with bababa for a couple of weeks then stopped then dadada then stopped then mamama he stopped that last week apart from when he is upset! He still says mamama sometimes when he cries!

He has now started closed mouth babbling,screaming has just started to attempt to blow raspberries and lots of humming but all the rest has gone, you can tell sometimes he is really trying to communicate but he cant get it to come out! It's making me so sad :(

Obviously when you Google these systoms the first thing that flags up is autism! His older half brother has it but he is very high functioning!

Now I'm starting to notice other things about him that is making me anxious.

He can
Lift his arms to be picked up
Point with whole hand and index finger, I might add he points constantly at everything all the time
He can wave sometimes when he feels like it
His joint attention is very good
He will look at what I am pointing at

He can't
Clap his hands
Doesn't immediate me
Only answers to his name sometimes

Last week he also has started to stair at his hands and cover his face with his whole hand alot

His loves cars trucks trains anything with wheels and will push them all day long!

For some reason he has never once babbled while in the bath or even make a sound which I find strange!

He has always been a happy baby full of smiles and laughter but sense he has turned 10 months has developed quiet a temper!

Also is an awfully sleeper still up 2 till 3 times a night for a bottle!

Can someone please reassure me that he may be OK because I am so anxious about the whole thing it's destroying me being to enjoy him just being a baby I just love him so much!

He is my 3rd and I really can't remember what my other 2 were doing at that age as they are now teens!

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 30/12/2023 00:33

JingleSnowmanTree · 30/12/2023 00:19

@FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper

Do you need a particular accent for that one?

youre up' is the best I can come up with, but it's not very funny... what am I missing ??

Show quote history

Nope, it works in pretty much any accent.

The hilarious bit (for a child or, ahem, for non-children) is that the natural good-faith response of "Europe who?" sounds like "You're a poo!" - to which your loud rejoinder is "No, YOU'RE a poo!!!!"

Tawlk · 30/12/2023 00:33

Woah, you ok OP? 😂😂😂

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 30/12/2023 00:34

BahHumbugger · 30/12/2023 00:29

Never mention Boswell

Show quote history

You just did!!

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 30/12/2023 00:35

BahHumbugger · 30/12/2023 00:31

Like the other famous non-joke. What's brown and sticky?

Show quote history

And also:

Why did the baker have smelly fingers?
Because s/he kneaded a poo!

johnd2 · 30/12/2023 00:38

The joke is that noone knows the real meaning of it!
It's a bit like watching kids TV, you can pick up a few bits that would go over kids heads and enjoy them as an adult.

Grimpo · 30/12/2023 00:39

It's never once occurred to me that that joke means anything other than getting to the other side of the road

LittleMissSunshiner · 30/12/2023 00:44

JingleSnowmanTree · 30/12/2023 00:19

@FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper

Do you need a particular accent for that one?

youre up' is the best I can come up with, but it's not very funny... what am I missing ??

Show quote history

Europe who...

you're a poooo

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 30/12/2023 00:46

@Worriedmummy1991

Your serious post has somehow found its way into the middle of a thread about bad jokes!

If you go to the top of the page (just under the blue 'Talk' title) and click on 'Start your own thread', your post won't get lost in the middle of this one; then you should get a lot more helpful responses from people in a position to advise - you can just copy and paste across what you wrote Smile

LittleMissSunshiner · 30/12/2023 00:47

Worriedmummy1991 · 30/12/2023 00:32

Hey everyone this might be a long post so please stay with me :)

I have a 10 month old little boy, I have always be worried about his speech and communication sense he was 5 months old as he has always been a quiet baby!

He started babbling at around 7 months old! Though he didnt do it very often He started with bababa for a couple of weeks then stopped then dadada then stopped then mamama he stopped that last week apart from when he is upset! He still says mamama sometimes when he cries!

He has now started closed mouth babbling,screaming has just started to attempt to blow raspberries and lots of humming but all the rest has gone, you can tell sometimes he is really trying to communicate but he cant get it to come out! It's making me so sad :(

Obviously when you Google these systoms the first thing that flags up is autism! His older half brother has it but he is very high functioning!

Now I'm starting to notice other things about him that is making me anxious.

He can
Lift his arms to be picked up
Point with whole hand and index finger, I might add he points constantly at everything all the time
He can wave sometimes when he feels like it
His joint attention is very good
He will look at what I am pointing at

He can't
Clap his hands
Doesn't immediate me
Only answers to his name sometimes

Last week he also has started to stair at his hands and cover his face with his whole hand alot

His loves cars trucks trains anything with wheels and will push them all day long!

For some reason he has never once babbled while in the bath or even make a sound which I find strange!

He has always been a happy baby full of smiles and laughter but sense he has turned 10 months has developed quiet a temper!

Also is an awfully sleeper still up 2 till 3 times a night for a bottle!

Can someone please reassure me that he may be OK because I am so anxious about the whole thing it's destroying me being to enjoy him just being a baby I just love him so much!

He is my 3rd and I really can't remember what my other 2 were doing at that age as they are now teens!

@Worriedmummy1991

Hi, I'm sorry you need to start a fresh thread, I don't know how you landed up in the middle of the puzzling joke comments

I don't know anything about babies but I'm sure plenty of people who do will answer you if you make a separate thread, maybe you can cut and paste your original?

BarelyCoping123 · 30/12/2023 01:11

Your friend is right OP

SplendidUtterly · 30/12/2023 02:32

I thought the same as you OP!!😂

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 30/12/2023 02:42

I don't actually see how anybody - even the Wikipedia article editor mentioned upthread - can categorically state that any deeper possible understanding of the joke is 'wrong' or 'mistaken'.

If it works, it works - whether intended or not!

SinnerBoy · 30/12/2023 06:10

BahHumbugger · Today 00:31

Like the other famous non-joke. What's brown and sticky?

Whaaaat?! That's one of the greatest jokes of all time!

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Cos it was stapled to a punk!

WandaWonder · 30/12/2023 06:13

I thought the point of crossing a road is to get to the other side, human chicken or dinosaur

octoberfarm · 30/12/2023 11:44

Fascinated that so many people think like your friend, OP. I always thought it was like your (darker) version 😂

Bippitybobbityboing · 30/12/2023 12:12

The joke is that it could mean either...isn't it?
It's a slightly dark play on words.

JingleSnowmanTree · 30/12/2023 16:40

LittleMissSunshiner · 30/12/2023 00:44

Europe who...

you're a poooo

Show quote history

@FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper @LittleMissSunshiner

ah that was my error, not continuing the joke!!

too many 2 line chicken jokes...

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