to ask for your help solving this impossible riddle/joke

[killingtime9198]

My best friend's family have a family 'joke', which she originally told me about when we were about 12/13. When she originally told me she didn't get the joke either, but then later did manage to work it out. When she first met her now husband he didn't get it, but he later also worked it out. I have never managed to get it, and every now and again I will remember the saga of this joke (this has been going on for about 20 years now), try desperately for a few days to work it out and then forget all about it for months.

Anyway, I wonder if the powers of mumsnet can either locate someone who has heard this 'joke' before, or who can work it out!

The joke is:

'There once was a man called Boswell. For short they called him Bos, and he walked up the post office steps.'

The joke is definitely NOT that there is no joke, and they're all having a laugh at me for trying to work it out - I am 100% confident of this.

For the love of god someone ask Alexa, I can't find mine. I need to know what she thinks!

Pretty sure the op said that the end only needed to involve Bos going somewhere.

Answer -3

Surely it's forty-two.

Generally with a riddle the answer is totally obvious. Once you figure it out, or someone tells you the answer you think, how could I not have guessed that, so I think it is safe to say it's none of the above so far. Some are ridiculous. We are all driving ourselves mad!

Boswelland Forshort - sounds like a character in a Jilly Cooper novel. So what is the actual definitive wording of it?

(Thank you everyone, haven't snorted laughed so much in ages)

.

Shameless place mark!

It's only Monday

I like the idea of “who’s Andy?”

Op does your friend have an accent?

Pleas come back!!!!

25 pages and still no answer!

Boswell how did you come up with 42?

Mine was simply 1-4=-3

Is the punchline - he's well gone?

Could the "for short" here be in a "cutting a long story short" sort of a way? So rather than getting details of Boswell's life we just get that he gets called Bos and goes to the post office.

That would still make it a really shit riddle/ joke though.

Blackmail the husband. Tell him you're going to tell your friend he had an affair with you unless he tells you the answer.

He's not an original family member so should be easier to crack.

Shakirawannabe 42 is the answer to everything

Bollocks lol fair enough

Is the punchline - he's well gone?

Please tell me this is it

42 is the answer to everything

Life, the universe AND everything!

We're going to have filled three threads by Thursday!
or should I say four threads in keeping with the random fours on here

I started casually reading this thread in work earlier and came back to see its descended into chaos. I’m howling that Bos has been renamed Thereonce Boswelland Forshort 😂

I've read 25 pages and still no answer.

I am lolling at ‘Boswelland’!

I might have to show her this thread - I reckon maybe it might make her tell me!

Southern accent (london) for those who asked. Sorry haven’t read all of the above so may have missed other qs but I will tomorrow!

Could the "for short" here be in a "cutting a long story short" sort of a way? So rather than getting details of Boswell's life we just get that he gets called Bos and goes to the post office.

I agree with this. It's the only one that makes any sense.

I am fucking baffled