Open Mic Night

The Blue Margrave is a he, but the punchline says "she didn't protest", so "she" refers to Mother Earth because the question said 'why on earth'?

I feel the real punchline is "Just threw a cow at him. He will live", while the last two lines don't related to the situation at all.

edited 27th May '16 1:11:23 AM by hellomoto

It isn't, though. The punchline is "she didn't protest" because cows can't talk.

But either one can be the punchline, so up to you.

By her, I meant the cow but that's certainly an interesting way to see it.

That joke was actually funny.

The punchline is that the cow didn't protest is the reason there is nothing wrong with the toss. It will remain funny if cows can in fact talk. "Threw a cow at him" is an inherently funny phrase that works to build up the joke.

How about "It didn't protest"? The "it" pronoun would make me realize faster that the cow-tosser meant the cow was the one who didn't protest, which was why the joke fell flat for me (I didn't understand what was actually meant).

Could also straight-up say "The cow didn't protest", though it probably wouldn't sound as snappy.

Would "Well, it didn't protest" in place of "What, it didn't protest" roll off the tongue better?

Or "What? It didn't protest!".

edited 27th May '16 4:58:36 AM by hellomoto

All cows are female though.

I like "What, it didn't protest." more as it has faster delivery and more clearly demonstrates the dissonance inherent in the scene.

edited 27th May '16 5:09:26 AM by war877

I prefer "she," because it makes you think about it just a TINY bit more, so it's wittier. You go "OK, there's dudes (presumably dudes) in this scene but not a woman. Who's the 'she?' Ohhhhhhh." Plus, it's a bit odd because people generally don't use gender pronouns for animals, so it stands out. That's why it's a "real" punchline.

"It" or "the cow" is essentially dumbing it down IMO. People who read a lot of comedy will catch that faster, and they're presumably the audience you're going for.

edited 27th May '16 5:25:40 AM by Wheezy

They don't?

edited 27th May '16 6:26:14 AM by dRoy

It depends from language to language, and in languages where they are allowed gendered pronouns, from person to person.

In American English, usually not unless it's a pet.

, Ah, I see.

I meant I like "what, it didn't protest" more than "well, it didn't protest." I also like she more.

Until the day it is not considered disrespectful to refer to humans as it, I don't see how it makes sense to refer to any gendered object in the neuter.

edited 27th May '16 4:21:19 PM by war877

Over the course of 24 hours I tried to work out who 'she' is, and arrived at the conclusion that you meant the earth. I had to have the joke explained to me. In my mind the cow was an animal, an object, so I couldn't make the link at all. Maybe I would've gotten it if the cow was an established character ("You threw Jessie? She's my pet cow!").

Also, punchlines have to hit fast for the humor to work. When it's in the middle of a story with so many things happening, audiences won't remember a joke unless it was funny right there and then. Not remembering a joke tends to do the exact opposite of making a joke funny.

edited 27th May '16 11:40:52 PM by hellomoto

I guess it's cultural. People where I live don't use it for animals. I am also trying to think of examples from media. I can think of several where cows were referred to as she, but none where cows were referred to as it.

The audience forgetting a joke is a good thing. You only want them to remember the good ones.

edited 27th May '16 11:55:28 PM by war877

They forgot the joke because they didn't even realize it's a joke at all.

I got it in 10-30 seconds. ....Meaning it caught some of the audience, but not others. Like every piece of humor in history.

I thought it wasn't that obscure. I guess it's one of those hit or miss line. XP

Another line:

It's a cliche final line - although I don't think you knew that when you wrote it - but if you put enough interesting wordings and in-universe context leading up to it (you need both), it can provide a good punchline.

edited 30th May '16 10:08:41 AM by Wheezy

...Yeah, I'm just gonna admit that yes, I didn't know it was a cliche. XP

That is another really good punchline and buildup.

If it is a cliché, I need to read more.

The grammar nazi in me asks, why are you referring to blood in the plural?

There is only so much humour you can draw out of a scene like that, and I think you got all of it.

Grammar is one of my (numerous) writing weaknesses, and I appreciate you pointing it out.

Well, at least it did draw any humor. XP

It also drew a lot of blood.

Yes, that's my idea of a punchline.

Is this good for crack comedy?

EDIT: Sorry if this is thread necromancy.

edited 19th Aug '16 8:06:26 PM by SephirotAero