Guys seem to love puns and similar joke formations. Each pun gets followed by the inevitable loud groan from its listeners. One guy I knew cherished puns so much that he collected them in a hand-sewn binder. On special occasions, he would trot it out and torture all his friends with it. I would, of course, groan and also ask, silently, “Where is the punchline?” Some would call this a form of “dad humor,” but I dunno…
My father cherished a form of pun called the feghoot, which is often called a “shaggy dog story.” Each narrative ends in a cliché turned upside down. The feghoot is similar to, but not the same as, a malapropism, which involves a phrase that is defaced, reversing its meaning and making the speaker ridiculous. For some unknown reason, several authors, including Shakespeare, have fought for the honor of originating this…thing. One example of a malapropism: “the plight of Soviet jewelry.” A member of Congress recently inveighed against “gazpacho police.”
Ready? Here’s the joke:
Long, long ago in ancient Persia, there was a shah who had everything: big jewels, elephants, a harem… But he wasn’t happy at all because his son and heir was very ill. After that, nothing mattered. [For your information: in ancient Persia, the son of a shah was called a shan.] The shah hired a man called Ali and instructed him, on pain of certain death, to stay by the child’s side and watch his every move.
One day, Ali got very thirsty and went out for a drink. When he returned only minutes later, he found the boy on the floor, helpless, tossing around in convulsions.
Ali was dragged before the shah, who said he had to lose his head. The axeman stood waiting, a big smile on his face. Ali protested, telling his boss that what he did was a once-in-a-lifetime mistake and promising never to repeat it.
The shah frowned with all his might. “Mistake, mistake?” he yelled. “I’m not buying that. I now ask you, my loyal servant: WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE FIT HIT THE SHAN?”—Kathryn Nocerino