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.

@circleoflife 'That's so rubbish I can't believe I typed it out'

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 literally just made me do a little wee!

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@killingtime9198 can you tell us what time your planning on meeting your friend on Thursday?!

I defo think he went up the Post Office steps to look for his 4 missing letters.

I think at the end of the joke you would say "well" 🤷🏻‍♀️ as in waiting on the punchline and the person telling the joke would say "Bos" and you would say "well" and so on and son on.

@CheesyWeez A good idea, but unfortunately (many pages ago) the OP said the Post Office detail wasn't essential - it could be a different type of building - which rules out missing letters based puns.

I think the person listening is meant to say 'Well? Is that it?' and everyone falls dead of wheezing 1900's consumptive laughter.

...and he walked up the post office steps.

Are you meant to ask ‘Who’s Andy?’ And they answer you as if you’ve asked ‘Who’s Handy?’

Can there be something in:
'There once was a man!' called Bos. Well, for short (sure?) they called him. Bos and he walked up the post office steps.'

That's horrific. This is making me want to throw my laptop out the window.

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SideEyeing Yes, I've wrangled endlessly with the punctuation too, with no luck. None of the alternative ways of punctuating it seem to be funny.

Is the joke that "for short" they called him "Bos and he walked up the post office steps" - i.e., the whole of the rest of that sentence is his nickname, which is "funny" because it's not "for short"?

Is it Thursday yet?

Fuckkkkkk. Rage!

Can't you just get married again? Oh go on! Then remember the next time to ask!

F

The twitter account 'mumsnet madness' claims to have solved it.. That can't be it?

Roll on Thursday.

It can't be because the friend said it would also work if Bos was a girl.

Girls can be called Andi.

Very true, but then the joke/riddle/time-waste would have gone 'and SHE'.

'And he' can be pronounced lazily to sound like Andy but you can't make 'and she' sound like Andi.

It won’t be funny whatever it is. It will be groan.

Nora I think you've got it. "And he walked up the Post Office steps."

"Who's Andy?"

Cue much laughter.

The Twitter folk have no theories that haven't already appeared on this thread. We've covered the Mornington Crescent theory and the 'Andrew' theory already.

Of course, it might be a Mornington Crescent joke, but it spoils the fun to write it off like that!

Its the 'whos andy' thing.

Really common joke, not with the Boswell and PO steps, but many other names/situations.

And he = Andy.

Totally not remotely funny.

"The man's name was Boswell, for short they called him bos"
"And he walked up the post office steps"

Could Boswell be the manager/owner so obviously he is called "bos/boss for short.

And "walked up the post office steps" could this refer to the levels he climbed to be in the position he is in? Maybe easily achieved climbing up to the position of boss 🤷‍♀️

That actually makes the most sense.