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"An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman" is the opening line of a category of
joke cycle A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...
popular in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The nationalities involved may vary, though they are usually restricted to those within Ireland and the UK, and the number of people involved is usually three or sometimes four. In
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, the characters are sometimes called "Paddy Irishman, Paddy Englishman, and Paddy Scotsman". Depending on who is telling the joke, one nationality fares well and the other nationalities fare poorly according to national stereotypes. For example, in England the punchline is usually based around the
Irishman The Irish ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been continually inhab ...
being stupid, the
Scotsman Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (o ...
being mean (i.e. miserly), and the Englishman being posh (or a snob but ultimately not the butt of the joke), whereas in Scotland and Ireland, the Englishman will typically be the butt of the joke. Sometimes, when the joke requires four people, a Welshman is brought in.


Form

The joke typically starts with the home or favoured nationality and ends with the nationality and associated stereotype against which the joke is made. For example, in England, the joke begins "An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman..." whereas in Ireland it begins "Paddy Irishman, Paddy Englishman, and Paddy Scotsman". The joke typically places the three characters in a scenario. How each person in the joke reacts to the scenario is then explained in order by person, the final reaction being the
punch line A punch line (also punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people Laughter, laugh. It is the third and final part of the Joke#Telling jokes, typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and th ...
, playing up to the
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
of that nationality. The joke uses the rule of three, the first two characters being used to set up an expectation which is then subverted in some way by the third.


National variations

The "three nationalities" joke format is also very common in other countries. In these cases, the two foreigners are almost always portrayed as cocky, stupid, or naïve, while the home national is smart, practical, or in any case ultimately victorious. *Such jokes in Canada have historically included a Canadian, an American, and a
Newfie ''Newfie'' (also ''Newf'' or sometimes ''Newfy'') is a colloquial term used by Canadians and others for someone who is from Newfoundland. Many Newfoundlanders consider "Newfie" a slur first used by American and Canadian military forces statione ...
(a pejorative term for someone who is from
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
). However, these jokes have fallen out of fashion with younger generations. *in Turkey, as "An Englishman, a Frenchman, and Temel..." (the last being a fictional character from the Black Sea region) *in Poland, as "A Pole, a German and a Russian..." *in the Czech Republic, as "A Czech, an American and a Russian..." *in Russia, see Russian jokes: Russians *in Scandinavia, as "A Swede, a Dane and a Norwegian..."Reciprocal national stereotypes in Scandinavia
by
Thomas Hylland Eriksen Geir Thomas Hylland Eriksen (6 February 1962 – 27 November 2024) was a Norwegian anthropologist known for his scholarly and popular writing on globalization, culture, identity, ethnicity, and nationalism. He was Professor of Social Anthropolo ...
**in Sweden, the Bellman joke has this format: "a Russian, a German and Bellman...", where Bellman was originally a real person, Carl Michael Bellman *in Finland, as "A Finn, a Swede and a Norwegian (or Dane)..." *in Spain, as "a Frenchman, an Englishman and a Spaniard" **sometimes other national stereotypes are used: womanizing Italians, punctual Germans and so on. Sometimes nationals in specific professions are substituted: the Spanish Guardia Civil contrasted to the Italian
carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...
, French
gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
and English bobbies ** alternatively, Spanish regional identities may be substituted: funny
Andalusians The Andalusians () are the people of Andalusia, an autonomous community in southern Spain. Andalusia's statute of autonomy defines Andalusians as the Spanish citizens who reside in any of the municipalities of Andalusia, as well as those Spani ...
, mean
Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...
, backwoodsy
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
s,
Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...
or Aragonese, cocky
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
ians and so on. In contrast, the neighbouring Portuguese are seldom mentioned ** sometimes the Spaniard is the butt of the joke *in Italy, as "A Frenchman, a German (or an Englishman) and an Italian..." where normally the other foreigners are portrayed as slow or stupid and the Italian as smarter or winning by cheating *in Portugal, as "a Portuguese man, a Frenchman and an Englishman..." *in Germany, with varying other nationalities, but most commonly "a German, an Austrian and a Swiss..." *in Greece, many variants: **with stereotypical nationals (such as "a Greek, a Frenchman, and a German... ") **regional variations (such as "a
Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
, a Cypriot, and a Pontian..."). Here, Pontians are always the punchline of the joke, being portrayed as stupid and thus taking on a role similar to that of the Irishman in the UK variant. *in India, as "a Sardarji, a Bihari and a Bengali..." *in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, any variation on its many nationalities can take part (e.g. "a
Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
, a
Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...
and a Bosnian..." or "a Montenegrin, a Macedonian, and a Slovenian..." *in New Zealand, as “an Englishman, an Irishman and a Māori man ...”, though sometimes the Irishman is replaced with a Chinese man depending on the context of the joke. The Maori man is usually the butt of the joke. *in Bulgaria, the usual form is "an American/Englishman, a Frenchman and a Bulgarian/ Bay Ganyo...", though various other national stereotypes can be employed as well *in Romania, as "a Muntenian, a Transylvanian and a Moldavian..." *in Brazil, there are variations. It is common to use an Argentinian or a Portuguese as the stupid one, if there is only one flawed man, with the nationalities of neutral characters being American, English or French. A shorter variation has only two men, usually a Brazilian and an Argentinian. *in
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
, the Irishman is substituted with a Pastuso, despite some jokes contain a plot twist and this character is depicted as smarter. **regional stereotypes are included, depicting boastful (
Paisas A Paisa is someone from a region in the northwest of Colombia, including part of the Cordillera Occidental (Colombia), West and Cordillera Central (Colombia), Central ''cordilleras'' of the Andean natural region, Andes in Colombia. The Paisa ...
), lazy ( Costeños or Opitas), phlegmatic ( Rolos) or naive ( Boyacenses) characters. *in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
as "A Persian, a Turk and an
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
..." *in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
as "a Chilean, a
Peruvian Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 ...
and an Argentinian", with the Peruvian being the butt of the joke. Although it's also common for the joke to involve a
Bolivian Bolivian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Bolivia ** Bolivian people ** Demographics of Bolivia ** Culture of Bolivia * SS Bolivian, SS ''Bolivian'', later SS ''Alfios'', a British-built standard cargo ship {{disambiguation ...
instead of an Argentinian. *in
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
as "a Dutchman, a German and a Belgian", with the Belgians usually being the butt of the joke. However, there are variations where the German is the subject of the punchline, and in some versions, the German is substituted with an Englishman. *in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
as "a Northerner, a Southerner, and a Taiwanese" The joke need not necessarily involve nationalities. Jokes about the hard sciences may begin "A
mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
, a
physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...
and an
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
..."


See also

* Bar joke *
Ethnic joke An ethnic joke is a remark aiming at humor relating to an ethnic, racial or cultural group, often referring to an ethnic stereotype of the group in question for its punchline. Perceptions of ethnic jokes are ambivalent. Christie Davies gives ex ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Englishman, An Irishman And A Scotsman Joke cycles Ethnic jokes British humour Stock characters in jokes Cultural depictions of British people Cultural depictions of Scottish people Cultural depictions of Irish people