Talk:Knock-knock joke

Early posts

To my knowledge, the "knock knock" joke was originated by my late uncle, Bob Dunn, who was a nationally syndicated cartoonist ("They'll Do It Every Time", "Little Iodine", etc.)....

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Somebody a few edits ago added the "missing lines" to the Dr. Who joke, and I took them back out again, so I feel the need to explain myself. I think leaving them out entirely is more illustrative in how knock-knock jokes, while usually following a specific structure, may have the structure broken for extra effect. Even though it was noted that the two lines were only in some variations, since they were put in the joke itself where the "missing" lines "belonged", it loses its punch.

Of course, the point is to write an article, not tell a funny joke, but I prefer to let the effectiveness of the device to speak for itself.

--Furrykef 10:32, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)

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The Dr. Who joke is no longer in the article as of this date, but it is interesting that all of Dr. Who is kind of a running variation on the knock-knock joke. "Who's that?" "It's the Doctor!" ... But nobody ever asks, 'Doctor Who?" Regarding knock-knock jokes in countries other than the USA, the movie "They Made Me a Fugitive" from 1947 has a character knocking twice on a coffin within which a person is hiding, and the person within says, "Who's there?" "Arthur." "Arthur who?" "Our thermometer." as if to check that the person is still alive. 173.174.85.204 (talk) 21:46, 25 June 2017 (UTC) Eric

I noticed that my talk appeared withing Furrykef's talk so I moved it below. 173.174.85.204 (talk) 21:51, 25 June 2017 (UTC) Eric

Can someone explain the Gibraltar joke? (I explained my Grape joke) -- Leonard G. 03:53, 1 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Knock Knock. Who's there? Ko-po. Ko-po who? Ko-po there a Deq on my Uji? I suspect the anonymous editor who put this in was playing a joke of his own; his five edits (Special:Contributions/219.77.73.223) were all made within one 31-minute period, and the other four were all nonsense. This one probably was too. --Metropolitan90 June 29, 2005 05:34 (UTC)

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This is an informative entry (as the joke's format isn't known in Brazil, for example), but the creation date and/or first records of the knock-knock joke are missing; the "time-honored" part made me wonder. -- Calebe 14:41, 2004 Oct 19 (UTC)

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In spain there is a very similar kind of jokes, they use to be about placing orders in a restaurant:

Camarero, camarero. Una de mero ...
Una de mero, dos de febrero, tres de marzo cuatro de abril ...

which is a pun about a kind of fish and a popular song of "San Fermines" party

Wikibooks

There is now a b:Joke book on Wikibooks. Please consider whether parts of this article should moved and/or copied to that project. Rossami (talk) 05:28, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I've got another one.

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Taupo.

Taupo who?

Taupo Laa-Laa wants her.

(Tell Po Laa-Laa wants her.)

Should this go into the article or b:Joke book?

I've got another one.

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Bee.

Bee who?

You should "Bee" in bed

Should this go into the article or b:Joke book? Scott Gall 04:57, 2005 Apr 11 (UTC)

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I invented this "prank" knock knock joke as a small child, although i wouldn't be surprised if others have done the same. It's supposed to go like this:

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Knock knock.

Knock knock who?

Knock knock joke!

But many people never realize they should reply with "Knock knock who?", and keep repeating "Who's there?" until they give up. --Anomie 17:05, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Unfortunately, this is endless. It's just as endless as music genres and racial slurs. I suggest that all jokes should be in the "jokebook" except a few examples in the article. I've made up knock-knock jokes as an adult. It just happens when you've been in the USA all your life. "Knock-knock." "Who's there?" "Tyrone." "Tyrone who?" "Tyrone-asaurus rex, RAAARRR!!" 173.174.85.204 (talk) 22:32, 25 June 2017 (UTC) Eric

Deletion of the Jokebook

Jimbo Wales has announced that he will be deleting the Jokebook from Wikibooks within 24 hours. See Wikibooks:Staff lounge. Uncle G 16:30, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

what happened to the knock knock joke from flowers for algernon?

Copyvio ?

Is the appearance of Shel Silverstein's joke subject to "Fair Use"? Mdotley 16:58, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Ya know, I was gonna ask the same thing. I don't think it is. But I'm not sure. Is it better to be safe rather then sorry and remove it? Or maybe just cut it down to a few illustrative lines rather then the entire poem? ~ ONUnicorn (Talk / Contribs) 13:35, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

If the poem had been published as a standalone, there would be no question that it's a copyvio. But since it is only a small part of a book, I'm not sure what rules apply. Mdotley 21:22, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Jokebook

This article is starting to turn into a jokebook. I reverted the last few additions, but I think that we, the editors, need to come to some consensus about an appropriate number of examples to illustrate the concept. Mdotley 21:24, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

C'mon, liven up. Don't be a spoil sport. please :-(. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.42.160.107 (talk) 2006-11-08 17:09:41

Mdotley is right. This article is nowhere near being an encyclopaedia article. There's plenty of source material to be found on the subject of knock-knock jokes, such as articles by Neal R. Norrick in the International Journal of Humor Research (and the Journal of Pragmatics) and research by folklorists into the cycle. This article hardly covers any of the territory covered in the literature, is wholly unsourced, and contains several paragraphs that are apparently original research. The several long lists of "variations" and "more variants" that have no accompanying analysis give it all the appearance of being an excuse to write a joke book in the middle of the encyclopaedia. There are plenty of places that have the aim of collecting as many knock-knock jokes as possible into a list. Wikipedia is not one of them. Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia. Uncle G 11:15, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

So, what can we do about it? ~ MD Otley (talk) 15:08, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

I'm satisfied with the development of this article, and will remove it from my watchlist. ~ MD Otley (talk) 14:44, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

Orange

I find Aunt works much better. The second joke is adjusted slightly:

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Granny. Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Granny. Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Aunt.

Aunt who?

Aunt you glad I got rid of the Grannies?

--80.175.250.218 16:40, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Doesn't work so well if you pronounce "Aunt" like "ant," as most Americans do. Kostaki mou (talk) 15:53, 28 August 2019 (UTC)

Language

This kind of format for this joke is not popular in Spanish speaking countries. FYI —Preceding unsigned comment added by Camilo Sanchez (talk • contribs) 19:32, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

I think it would be great if someone more fluent than I could translate the essence of the article into Spanish. My students keep asking about these jokes, and are never satisfied by my explanations. An actual knock-knock joke in Spanish would probably be necessary, but I've never heard one... yet. -Joshua Clement Broyles —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.25.46.154 (talk) 00:16, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

History

The earliest reference to Knock Knock jokes in the article is from the early 50's however, Spike Jones song "Knock Knock (who's there)" which is a prescriptive procedure on knock knock jokes complete with examples was recorded in the 1940's. I have no idea if Spike invented the genre or was inspired by it, but I believe that his recording preceeds other mentions of the history of the knock knock joke.

StateOfTheUnion 10:50, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

Hindi "khat-khat"

I added a reference to "khat-khat" jokes in hindi now heard on radio channels in India. Sorry it smacks of OR, but I it's hard to get references. Amit@Talk 16:02, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

I don't get it.

Or maybe I just don't see the humour. I believe this is relevant because I have read the article and I would say the article should make it clear to me what kind of joke this is. It would appear that after "who's there" you say a name, which the recipient repeats followed by "who?" which the punster answers with a completely unrelated sentence that includes the name or a word that sounds a bit like the name. I am from the Netherlands and this joke doesn't seem to be very popular here (at least not where I live) which might explain why I don't get it, but usually I have no big issues understanding humour in English. And since this joke appears to be very popular, I have the feeling there must be more to it, if that is so maybe that could be explained in the article.W3ird N3rd (talk) 02:00, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Explaining a joke ruins it, but there is not much to ruin here.

The basis for the knock knock joke is the real situation of someone knocking with their fist on a door so that the person on the inside will let them in. For example, the outsider, Steve, knocks twice. The insider yells "Who's there?" The outsider answers "Steve," thinking this is enough for the insider to let him in. The insider isn't expecting anyone named Steve, so he continues "Steve who?" This prompts the outsider to go into more detail, "Steve Smith, your cousin from California." The insider knows Steve, so he opens the door and lets him in.

The way to turn this common social situation into a joke is for Steve to play a trick. He knocks ("Knock Knock"). The insider responds, "Who's there?" Steve replies, "Ben". The insider asks "Ben who?" Steve answers "Ben standing outside for too long, let me in!". This is a pun, playing on the fact that in English, the name "Ben" and the verb "Been" sound the same but have different meanings. The insider is puzzled, since he expected a family name or explanation, but then opens the door to see who it is and lets Steve in. He may even laugh.

However, there are only so many names that sound like other words or phrases, and only a few can be twisted into something you might say when standing outside a door. The framework gets used to tell other puns, where the point of the joke is that one word or phrase sounds like another. The joke-teller says "Knock-knock", the joke hearer asks "Who's there", the teller says the word, the joke hearer repeats the word adding "who?", and the teller finishes the pun. The vast majority of of knock-knock jokes are just puns, having nothing to do with doors.

In my part of the U.S., these jokes are very popular with kids just figuring out humor. There is a little to memorize, it is easy to tell and to participate, and they are usually "clean" (as opposed to "dirty" jokes with sexual or scatological humor). Even at this age, they aren't particularly funny. They are just wrapping their minds around the concept that different words have the same sound, so they enjoy the cleverness and word play. Most kids grow out of them well before the age of 13, and it is rare to find an adult who still tells them.

My daughter (5 years old) has a favorite. "Knock Knock" "Who's there?" "Cows" "Cows who?" "Cows don't go who, they go moo!" It was a little funny the first three times. After fifty times, it loses a little. JohnWhitlock (talk) 03:02, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, I actually do get it now. I'm thinking I probably somehow never made the connection to doors because where I live people speak Dutch, so I would have never been in a (literal) knock-knock situation (in English). Also, when the joke is told on the internet or TV from an English source, there never is an actual door and the people can even see each other. It now does feel stange to have missed it, probably a lack of imagination. I possibly guessed the knocking was knocking on the other persons head, even though that doesn't make much sense for the rest of the joke. I also still think the majority of knock-knock jokes isn't that funny, but that's just a matter of sense of humour.

I have actually added a bit to the article to explain it. What if somebody reads wikipedia trying to figure out this joke 500 years from now when doors and identification by speech are obsolete? Or even worse, what if there are more people like me? W3ird N3rd (talk) 02:05, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

German knock-knock

I never heard of any kind of knock-knock joke in German! And the most funny bit about that paragraph was the use of the word "popular". Plays on names on the other hand are commonly understood but they're more used in the context of comedy/cabaret. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.168.168.32 (talk) 15:08, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Same here - I'm a German and have been in Germany for most of my life. Even if the "popular German riddle" mentioned in the article exists, I've never heard it before and it's certainly not popular. Thus I think it should be deleted. Martin Zuther (talk) 22:21, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

Definitely, Knock-Knock-Jokes are completely unknown in Germany. The mentioned "riddle" seems to be made up but it's definitely not popular. Typical German jokes (or riddles) have structures and punchlines that differ a lot from this one. Someone should delete it. (and, by the way: yes, Germans DO have a sense of humour!) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.77.247.157 (talk) 19:46, 23 November 2010 (UTC)

When did "knock knock jokes" become well known in Anglo-American culture?

The current version of the article is a bit vague on the history of the knock-knock joke in its modern form, but searching Google I found a few sources that seem to place the origin in 1936. [1] [2] In particular, enotes.com quotes the 1936-08-19 issue of Variety that a Knock Knock Craze was sweeping America. The archives of Variety are available online but only with the payment of a fee, which I'm not inclined to do. The url appears to be http://www.varietyultimate.com/archive/issue/DV-08-19-1936-1. Also if you have patience, look at this Google Books search which I think confirms the time of origin to the mid-1930s. —Mathew5000 (talk) 07:59, 2 November 2010 (UTC)

Silverman joke not significant

I would suggest that the Silverman joke be deleted because it is not particulary significant to an understanding of the subject. Of course "Knock-knock jokes can also be offensive to some people" -- all joke formats can have content which is offensive to people. There is nothing particular about a knock-knock joke which lends itself to controversial subject matter. I have not deleted the material myself because it seems to have been a part of the article for a while. Wickedjacob (talk) 21:03, 20 August 2011 (UTC)

As no one seems to have strong feelings about, I am going to go ahead and delete that joke. Wickedjacob (talk) 20:32, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Philippine version

The Philippine version of the knock-knock joke is similar to the French version, except the punchline can be found in any part of the son that can be sung. Sometimes it's not just one or two words that's punned; some jokes use four or more seemingly random Tagalog words to replace a line in an English language song. Alphapeta (talk) 15:33, 28 January 2012 (UTC)

George Zimmerman Defense Knock Knock

This is a particularly famous knock knock joke and could be put on here. It was a high profile case and used as an opening statement

‘Knock, knock. Who’s there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? Alright good, you’re on the jury

This is an example of what might be called a trick knock knock, in which the formula is derailed. A couple of others:

Did you ever hear the World War III joke?

Knock knock. Who's there? (No answer.)

Knock knock. Who's there? Boo. Boo who? Well if you're going to cry about it I'm not going to tell you! Kostaki mou (talk) 16:26, 4 April 2017 (UTC)

References

Shakespearian Origin?

Possibly the earliest example of use of 'Knock Knock, Who's there' was from Macbeth Act 2 Scene 3.

Porter:

Here's a knocking indeed! If a man were porter of Hell Gate,

he should have old turning the key. [Knock] Knock, knock,

knock! Who's there, i' th' name of Belzebub? . . . [Knock] Knock,

knock! Who's there, in th' other devil's name?

If I have time later, and can demonstrate a link I'll update the article to reflect this.

Y control (talk) 10:58, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

What make you think it is a knkn-joke? -M.Altenmann >t 11:30, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

Invented a new "Knock knock" joke

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Christmas Tree!

Christmas Tree who?

Christmas let me in heaven.

(Christ most let me in heaven.)

I don't think it's good enough. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.120.149.54 (talk) 19:06, 31 December 2017 (UTC)

Who’s the source?

1. I always thought they were older than 1900; and from Northern England. But I guess if so, the source would have made it on to Wiki by now? No Jane Austen? Dickens? And if the source is American; what about Laura Ingalls Wilder or Louisa May Alcott?

This comes from reference1 (and I think useful) [3];

Before there were knock-knock jokes — as we know them — there were "Do You Know" jokes. Writing in the Oakland Tribune, Merely McEvoy recalled that around 1900, a jokester would walk up to someone and pop a question like: "Do you know Arthur?" And the unsuspecting listener would reply, "Arthur who?" And the jokester would say "Arthurmometer!" and run off laughing.

2. Also: I’d like to see the article say more emphatically that the Macbeth story, is totally coincidental. Not an influence. Not a source. MBG02 (talk) 02:38, 29 September 2018 (UTC)

Another Variant

In a game called “Just for Laughs,” I found this joke:

Knock, knock. Who’s there? P.S. P.S.? I thought your name was Adeline! P.S. is when you Adeline. Cbsteffen (talk) 03:40, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

Cannot find reference

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=interrupting+cow&year_start=1950&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=0&case_insensitive=true seems to not support the statement that the interrupting cow joke was circa 1980. I cannot find any origination date at all. Google Scholar does not seem to have any relevant articles. What is the origin of interrupting cow??????  AltoStev (talk) 20:11, 15 November 2023 (UTC)

If it's unsourced, you can just remove it. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 03:23, 16 November 2023 (UTC)