A riddle joke, joke riddle, pseudo-joke or conundrum is a
riddle
A riddle is a :wikt:statement, statement, question, or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or Allegory, alleg ...
that does not expect the asked person to know the answer, but rather constitutes a set-up to the humorous
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 ...
of the joke.
[Mac E. Barrick, "Racial Riddles & the Pollack Joke", ''Keystone Folklore Quarterly'', Volume 15, Issue 1, 1970]
pp. 3–15
/ref>
It is one of the four major types of riddles, according to Nigel F. Barley.[Nigel F. Barley (1974), "Structural Aspects of the Anglo-Saxon Riddle", ''Semiotica'' 10 (2)] There are many cycles of jokes in the form of a conundrum, such as elephant jokes,[ "]Why did the chicken cross the road?
"Why did the chicken cross the road?" is a common riddle joke with the answer being "To get to the other side." It is commonly seen as an example of anti-humor, in that the curious setup of the joke leads the listener to expect a traditional pu ...
" and lightbulb jokes.
Joke cycles implying inferiority or other 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 ...
s of certain categories of people, such as blonde jokes or 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 ...
s (such as Polack jokes), have a considerable number of joke riddles.[
]
Types
* Elephant joke
* Lightbulb joke
* Newspaper riddle
* "Why did the chicken cross the road?
"Why did the chicken cross the road?" is a common riddle joke with the answer being "To get to the other side." It is commonly seen as an example of anti-humor, in that the curious setup of the joke leads the listener to expect a traditional pu ...
"
* Radio Yerevan jokes
Abstraction
In areas which have historical ties with Asia Minor
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
, such as Greece, Turkey, Armenia, of popularity are "abstract riddles" that follow templates: "What is this: A inside and B outside?" or "What is this: A is around and B in the middle?". For example:
See also
* Riddle-tale
*Trick question
A trick question is a question that confuses the person asked. This can be either because it is difficult to answer or because an obvious answer is not a correct one. They include puzzles, riddles and brain teasers.
The term "trick question" may ...
References
{{reflist
Joke cycles
Riddles