Getting the joke 30 years later - just me?

[HappySquid]

I have just realised that Shaun the Sheep's name is a play on words (Shaun/shorn). Feeling rather sheepish.

Has anyone else come across a joke that only sunk in many years later or is it just me?!

I our house any mention of the Venga Bus is followed by the line,

    ‘Ask not for whom the Venga bus comes, 
     For it comes for thee’

That's not the joke though. It's elephants that have the big ears, not Noddy.

He originally wanted to call the character Mary Hinge but they wouldn’t let him due to the spoonerism. I’m guessing no one noticed with Cupid Stunt.

Exactly, Jaime is pronounced Jamie. I had a client called Jaime and I had to check with him to be fair.

I'm surprised at the people who don't know of any other way Shaun can be pronounced other than the way they say it i.e. shorn.

However, those of us who don't pronounce Shaun and shorn the same still get the joke.

Cupid Stunt is much more obvious!

Thank you. That's, well words fail me tbh.

However, those of us who don't pronounce Shaun and shorn the same still get the joke.

Well yes, but only when it’s explained (for many of us anyway) or unless you hear someone saying shorn in the appropriate accent.

Yes but I’ve no idea why they used it.

His friend is called Big Ears

Mount Wannahockaloogie in Finding Nemo
🤢

Smugness? Trying to appear witty? They feel their knowledge is superior?

But it’s a Spanish or Portuguese name isn’t it? It’s not pronounced Jamie there.
https://forvo.com/word/jaime/

No, it is pronounced Himay in Spanish which I think a lot of english speakers would struggle with. It still has two syllables though (like Jamie) so UK/US pronunciations would be Jamie as far and I know.

Think of it as why did noddy have Mr Smith, because Mr Smith didn’t pay the ransom (therefore Noddy is keeping Mr Smith hostage). Replace Mr Smith with his friend, who is called Big Ears. Therefore it could mean why does Noddy have big ears (like a big nose) but it’s really referring to his friend Big Ears.

https://www.namechef.co/pronunciation/jaime/

That sounds a bit retrospective to me, if it means the hen is crushed by motor traffic.
The riddle is older than motor traffic.

The joke is the obviousness of the simple reason the hen crossed the road- to get to the other side of the road.

Ok, so the pronunciation has been adapted in English language countries…thanks, I didn’t know that. I don’t know any Jaimes that are native English speakers.

In the beginning they all said jaime sounding like jame. I have no clue how its meant to be said, also dont much care, but youd think the series producers or somebody would give some shits and sort it out, instead if getting two seasons in and changing. It really grated.

While I was out this afternoon a tangential question occurred to me which some of the Irish/Scottish speakers may be able to answer.
In many English accents the names spelled as Sean, Shaun and Shawn are indistinguishable homophones of each other as well as of 'shorn'. Are there any accents in which those three spellings wouldn't be pronounced the same?

(On my return checking the wiki page to see if Sean should have a fada I realise my question may be naive, for which apologies).

That's because @words hasn't got the joke right in the first place.

The actual joke is "Why do elephants have big ears?"
Answer: Because Noddy wouldn't pay the ransom.

Big Ears is a friend of Noddy in a series of children's books.
Elephants do have big ears, so it is a reasonable question.

The character, Noddy, doesn't have big ears, and why would he hold his friend to ransom anyway?

I bet it did! Even if they pronounced it wrong it would be better to be consistent with the wrong one rather than reverting to the correct one halfway through.

Think of it as why did noddy have Mr Smith, because Mr Smith didn’t pay the ransom (therefore Noddy is keeping Mr Smith hostage). Replace Mr Smith with his friend, who is called Big Ears. Therefore it could mean why does Noddy have big ears (like a big nose) but it’s really referring to his friend Big Ears.

You're mangling the joke! It's the elephants who've got Big Ears (as well as big ears), and Noddy who didn't pay the ransom.

And it's spicy, so it's a bit of an animal in that it's something to be reckoned with.