The other day I mentioned jokes involving the Rule of Three. Today, let’s look at my favorite type of jokes – those that involve Misdirection. (N.B. There is a fancy Greek word for this – Paraprosdokian – but I’m too lazy to learn how to spell it and keep typing it out in the following so I’ll stick with saying Misdirection.)
Misdirection jokes involve a setup that has you leaning or going in one direction, but then the punch line diverts you somewhere else. The most famous example of this is probably Henny Youngman’s “Take my wife….please!” A more morbid example of the Misdirection dynamic is: “My Grandfather died at Auschwitz. He got drunk and fell out of the guard tower.”
Most Misdirection jokes are one liners that ADD folks like me tend to favor. Rodney Dangerfield made a whole career out of his “I don’t get no respect” act by telling one liner Misdirection jokes such as “I’m not saying my wife is fat but when she sits around the house, she sits AROUND the house.” Another Rodney one goes “The doctor said I had cancer and after I told him I’d like a second opinion, he said “You’re ugly too.”
In Buzzy’s Country Store many Misdirection jokes are frequently said either intentionally or unintentionally. Brian Barnhill is good for coming up with variations such as “All car accidents happen within 5 miles of home; that’s why I moved.” Or when someone in Buzzy’s says “Surely….” he’ll quote the Leslie Nielsen line from Airplane “Don’t call me Shirley!”
Comedians Steven Wright (“It’s a small world, but I wouldn’t want to paint it.”) and Mitch Hedberg (“My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.”) were also experts at Misdirection humor. Click here for a video showcasing some of their work:
I have my own personal Buzzy Misdirection line that I use whenever someone makes a comment about the Store not turning a profit. My reply goes “If I was here for the money, I wouldn’t be here.”
Not sure if the following video is an example of Misdirected or just Very Bad humor but check it out and I’m betting that either way, you’ll be laughing before it’s over: