Jokes kids with AS would understand

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It's a stupid joke, so stupid it's not even funny. But anyone can get it because it's literal. Everyone says it's a dumb joke but hey it's easy for an aspie kid to get. I got it when I first heard it but I never found it funny.

It's a play on the phrase "trying to make ends meet" which is an idiom for trying to survive with a limited budget. Even though I get the joke it isn't very funny. Meh.

I still don't quite understand the joke. Jokes have always been complicated for me.

The phrase "make ends meet" has two meanings. In the litral context the dog is trying to "make ends meet" by making its front end (i.e. snout) touch its rear end (i.e. its tail). The second meaning is the idiom which ties in with the dog being broke, i.e. no money.

Jerry, you're right, but the jokes rely on simpler language construct, and from my point of view, would be easier to understand for a child. Someone who interprets everything 100% literally may say "Ok, so now he's on top of the TV, what's so funny?" However, I think that "on" in the context of "appearing on a television program" is such a hugely popular, accepted usage of the word, that even a child with AS would understand the joke, even if a slight processing delay occurs - "Ok, so he climbed on top of the TV.. because he wanted to appear on TV! But that won't help him! Haha!"

Sure, parallels can be drawn. However, many of the jokes in the book he was given rely on non-literal meanings further away from the mainstream (in fact, many rely on American slang) that may not come naturally to a child with AS - he or she would have to understand "broke" not in the context of "fractured or damaged," but in the context of "having little or no money." Upon understanding that, he or she would have to understand "making ends meet" not in the sense of "joining two parts," but in the sense of "pulling through a financial hardship." A similar joke that also confused my brother went like this: Why is it easy to cheat a sheep? Because it's easy to pull the wool over its eyes.

By the way, thanks to you and all for the reading recommendations. He's actually reading The Light Fantastic now.

<high-fives> Word play has always been my favorite.

"I once got a job as a lumberjack, but i couldn't cut it, so they game me the axe."

"I was once a cook, but i didn't always have thyme."

"I was once a history teacher, but there was no future in it."

Dunno what kind of vocabulary he has, and his ability to associate words sounding the same, but meaning something different. I also tend to enjoy humorous oxymorons (ie jumbo shrimp, microsoft works, military intelligence ).

That joke sounds stupid. Why would a dog have money and how would chasing it do anything? Stupid joke and not funny.

Well, you're not alone, my 13 year old brother thought the exact same thing when I explained the joke to him. But most jokes aren't made for an audience with AS. Frankly, they're catered to an NT audience, as are the vast majority of comedy movies, standup routines, et al. It's not about getting the jokes, it's about understanding what makes them funny to NTs, even if you personally don't find them funny.

I assume the 13 year old is the aspie.


Funny how two aspie minds can think alike.

I'm sure there are NT's out there who don't find that joke funny either.

I'm sure there are, but I'm not talking about any single joke, I'm talking about a successful comedy film or standup routine, how they're usually made by and for NTs, and how it's difficult to find humorous material for a child with AS, or a person with AS in general.

If I'm ever parent to a child with AS, I'd want him or her to understand the concept of humor and experience the joy of laughter, and I'd want to know where to get material that can afford him or her those abstractions.

Ever hear the old saying "the joke's not funny anymore if you have to explain it"? Well, it's true.

Last edited by ssenkrad on 12 Dec 2009, 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Jokes don't have to make sense and it got a chuckle out of me.

I don't see the problem, some people (aspie or not) just don't get certain kinds of jokes and/or don't think they're funny.

I don't think it's possible to get someone to experience humor by explaining the concept. Humor isn't something you understand, it's something you experience. Most people can laugh at a joke, but if you asked them "why" they found it funny they'd probably be lost for words. It's subjective too.

I don't know if this is in any way related to autism or AS but most of the humor I enjoy involves parody or satire. Word play doesn't do anything for me.

awesome. Hope he isn't too young to miss too many references. You should read it as well, it's not just a children's book.
Did he read Colour of Magic first? LF is a sequel to CoM. (one of my peeves is I have to watch/read things in order)


Perhaps it's because english is my second language, or that I unconsciously already process the possible meanings of words. I know broke has 2 popular meanings, and the joke even works with both meanings.
Or I just watch an inordinate amount of tv, thus picking up all sorts of slang and idioms, and having to infer from the context what they mean if I don't know them yet.

Not that it's a particularly funny one, mind you.
Actually, now that I think about it, it is a rather clever one. Even if you take it literally, it works.

heh...

Heh... when I read "broke dog," my first thought was that he had a problem with his spine that was exacerbated by chasing his tail...

"A duck walks into a bar and orders a round for everyone there. The bartender says, 'And how would you like to pay for this?' to which the duck replies, 'Oh, just put it on my bill.'"

Ok, that got a laugh out of me! I love my mac.



I understood that one after a few seconds, but I don't understand what's so funny about it. Either way it doesn't quite make sense, because if you look at it in the "lacking money" sense of broke, I don't get why he was chasing his tail and if you look at it in the "make a circle" definition of making ends meet, why was he broke? Because if he was broken in two, chasing his tail wouldn't make ends meet since the middle or wherever he was broken wouldn't be connected!
Either way, if you subtract one word it makes sense, so I guess they're just to tie the two ideas together?
I guess I don't understand it, then.