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Chain of Corrections

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London: Too late, we're gonna get married, buy a big villa, and live in Acapella.
Maddie: People sing A Capella; he lives in Acapulco.
London: That's what my sweater's made out of.
Maddie: That's Alpaca!
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, "Foiled Again"

Bob makes a historical/cultural/pop culture reference and Alice thinks he is referring to something entirely different. Bob corrects Alice but this only leads her to make another incorrect connection, which Bob corrects again. And so on and so on.

Just one mistake and this would just be a simple misunderstanding, but string together a chain of these and you have this trope.

Due to the nature of this trope with multiple cultural references in quick succession, some of the allusions may fly over the audience's head. This usually doesn't actually hurt the comedic potential though.

Compare Sustained Misunderstanding and Escalating Punchline.


Examples

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    Anime & Manga 
  • Shirokuma Cafe, at least the anime version, combines Chain of Corrections and Visual Puns into a Once per Episode gag. Polar Bear will misunderstand a word another character says, then rapidly appear in different costumes and scenery that suggest similar-sounding words. The extreme reliance on the Japanese language for these jokes probably means the series will never be dubbed.
    Penguin: Seconds, please. [Okawari]
    Polar Bear brings sunflowers.
    Penguin: Those would be sunflowers (himawari).
    Polar Bear returns as a chef with a labeled three-course meal.
    Penguin: That would be the daily special (higawari).
    Polar Bear returns with an axe and firewood.
    Penguin: That would be splitting logs (makiwari).
    Blindfolded Polar Bear menaces a watermelon with a stick.
    Penguin: That's splitting a watermelon (suika wari). Seconds, please.

    Comedy 
  • Abbott and Costello's famous "Who's on First?" comedy routine, where Abbott tries identifying the players of a baseball team to Costello, but Costello's constant misinterpretation of the players' names and nicknames as non-responsive answers leads to Abbott constantly invoking the trope ... and leaving Costello even more confused and frustrated!

    Comic Books 
  • An issue of MAD from 1955 featured a six-page comic called Gopo Gossum, written by Harvey Kurtzman and drawn by Wally Wood, which was a parody of Walt Kelly's Pogo. As this story parodied several aspecs of the Pogo comic, including the tendency the cast had to completely misunderstand everything that was said, it featured the animals deliberately misinterpreting words just for the hell of it, leading to this example:
    Houn' Dog: Consort? What that?
    Howland Owl: Any dang fool knows... a "consort" is where a bunch of musicians gets together and play highbrow music!
    Albert: No! No! Tha's a concert!
    Churchy La Femme: A "consort" is this here factory they gets all different kinds tin-cans an' sort out these cans with this here machine called a con sort!
    Albert: No! No! No! No! Tha's a can sort!
    Howland Owl: ...A "consort" is where there's this here fella named "Con" who looked up in the air an' saw a flyin' saucer! An' when anybody asked "Who saw the flyin' saucer?" they said: "Con sort!"
    Churchy La Femme: No! No! Tha's "Con saw-it!"

    Fan Works 
  • All Assorted Animorphs AUs: In "What if all the yeerks suddenly died? (Part 2)", Tom has a hard time explaining all of the aliens to his mom because she keeps confusing Andalite morphing with Yeerk control.
    Jean: So this yeerk morphed Jake, and then—
    Tom: No, the yeerk was inside Jake’s brain. He had control of the original Jake. And then Ax acquired Jake’s DNA, then became a copy of Jake.
    Jean: And he controlled it?
    Tom: Uh. No?
    Jean: But then… Tom, I thought you said that yeerk was controlling you. Did it make a copy of you too?
    Tom: What? Nobody morphed me. That I know of, anyway. Yeerks can’t morph.
    Jean: I thought you said humans can’t morph either. Does that mean Jake’s an andalite because he can morph now?
    Tom: No, he’s just an Animorph.
    Jean: And that’s its own species?
    Tom: Don’t I know it. But no. Animorphs are dumb kids in spandex. Andalites are the ones with the tail blades.
    Jean: Oh, and all the spiky horns?
    Tom: No, those are hork-bajir.
  • The Bolt Chronicles: Mittens, Petey, and Petey's circle of friends engage in a hurricane of mistaken terminology fixes in "The Survivor."
    Bruce: [grinning] Meeeeow, girl! Most kitties have sandpaper tongues, but can't say I ever met one with a mouth full of fishhooks before. You're a true cat mutation, for sure. A regular… a regular… um, a regular "anemone," gotta say.
    Wayne: [laughing] What? I see whiskers on her face, not tentacles! You mean "homily," don't you?
    Petey: [shaking his head] Always thinking about food, aren't you? That’s "hominy."
    Alastair: [groaning] Geez! If you’re gonna use that word-a-day calendar your human has on his writing desk, you might wanna at least, you know, get it right? I'm pretty sure you meant "anomaly."
  • In The Family that Chooses You Harry asks for the definition of "clout" which isn't "hitting someone".
    Katie: It's a type of illness, Mum told me about it.
    Alicia: No, that's gout.
    Fred: Oh it's the thing you do with your lip.
    Alicia: Stop pouting you two. And no, that's pout, not clout!
    Harry: Wait, I'm not trying to sell anything.
    Alicia: That's tout you idiot! Fine! [Hits Harry] There! You happy?!
  • In Harry Potter and the Bonds of Time Ron gets a bit mixed-up while discussing Binns' first homework assignment with Hermione.
    Ron: Besides, who can't write a story about Uric slaying the goblin king of Botswana? I imagine Binns would give us extra credit if it was violent.
    Hermione: That was Emeric the Evil!
    Ron: Trudging through the swamps of Ireland?
    Hermione: Urg the Unclean.

    Film — Animated 
  • SCOOB!: When our heroes are stranded on Mystery Island deep underground, Shaggy gives his friends a Rousing Speech to get them to band together help save Scooby from Dick Dastardly.
    Shaggy: Now, it's time we stopped this mustachioed menace from opening the gates to the underpass...
    Dee Dee: Underworld.
    Shaggy: ...and letting loose the fearsome Sippycup!
    Dynomutt: Cerberus.
    Shaggy: So, what do you say we get out of Middle Earth...
    Blue Falcon: Copyright infringement.
    Shaggy: ...and go get my always-snacking, never-lacking, often-napping dog back? Who's with me?!
    Everyone: We are!

    Films — Live-Action 
  • From Facing the Giants:
    J.T. Hawkins Jr.: By the way, some man called lookin' for you today.
    Grant Taylor: Who?
    J.T. Hawkins Jr.: Stan Schultz.
    Grant Taylor: Stan Schultz?
    J.T. Hawkins Jr.: Yeah.
    Brady Owens: Stan Schultz - isn't that a cartoonist?
    Grant Taylor: That's *Charles* Schultz.
    J.T. Hawkins Jr.: No, I thought Charles Schultz was that man that flew across the ocean in "The Spirit of St. Andrews."
    Grant Taylor: That's Charles Lindbergh, and it's "The Spirit of St. Louis."
    Brady Owens: Naw, Lindbergh is a cheese!
    Grant Taylor: Limburger's the cheese. Lindbergh's the man.
    J.T. Hawkins Jr.: No, Lindbergh was that blimp that blew up and killed all them people.
    Grant Taylor: That's the Hindenburg.
    Brady Owens: Nah, Hindenburg's where you go skiing in Tennessee.
    Grant Taylor: That's Gatlinburg!
    J.T. Hawkins Jr.: Gatlinburg? You mean like the country music group, the Gatlinburg Brothers?
    Grant Taylor: [throws ball] Crazy.
  • The Naked Gun 2 1/2 has this discussion when searching for a suspect due to a string of NonIndicative Names:
    Lt. Frank Drebin: Hector Savage. From Detroit. Ex-boxer. His real name was Joey Chicago.
    Ed Hocken: Oh, yeah. He fought under the name of Kid Minneapolis.
    Nordberg: I saw Kid Minneapolis fight once. In Cincinnati.
    Frank No you're thinking of Kid New York. He fought out of Philly.
    Ed: He was killed in the ring in Houston. By Tex Colorado. You know, the Arizona Assassin.
    Nordberg: Yeah, from Dakota. I don't remember it was North or South.
    Frank: North. South Dakota was his brother. From West Virginia.
    Ed: You sure know your boxing.
    Frank: All I know is never bet on the white guy.
    (Nordberg nods in agreement)

    Literature 
  • From Autobiography of Red:note 
    Herakles:You know you have to pass an examination to get into the electricians' union in Buenos Aires but all the exam questions are about the constitution.
    Geryon: What do you mean the human constitution?
    Herakles: No the constitution of Argentina except the last one.
    Geryon: The last constitution?

    Live-Action TV 
  • From Arrested Development:
    Wife of Gob: I'm in love with your brother-in-law.
    Gob: You're in love with your own brother? The one in the army?
    Wife of Gob: No, your sister's husband.
    Gob: Michael? Michael....
    Wife of Gob: No, that's your sister's brother.
    Gob: No, I'M my sister's brother. You're in love with me. Me!
    Wife of Gob: I'm in love with Tobias.
    Gob: My brother-in-law?
    Wife of Gob: I know it can never be, so I'm leaving. I'm enlisting in the army.
    Gob: To be with your brother?
  • A short but funny example from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, after Willow has been called "Old Reliable" in "Doppelgangland":
    Willow: [sarcastically] "Old Reliable"? Yeah, great. There's a sexy nickname.
    Buffy: Well, I-I didn't mean it as...
    Xander: She just means, you know, the geyser. You're like a geyser of fun that goes off at regular intervals.
    Willow: That's Old Faithful.
    Xander: Isn't that the dog that the guy had to shoot..?
    Willow: That's Old Yeller.
    Buffy: Xander, I beg you not to help me.
  • This one from Cheers:
    Frasier: "The films of Ingmar Bergman..."
    Norm: Boy, who could forget her in Casablanca, huh?
    Frasier: No, no, you're thinking of Ingrid Bergman. I'm talking about Ingmar Bergman.
    Woody: Ingmar Bergman, the boxer?
    Cliff: No, Woody, you're thinking of Ingemar Johansson."
    Sam: You mean the guy who knocked out Floyd Patterson?
    Norm: No, no, no, Sonny Liston knocked out Patterson.
    Pete: Well then who knocked out Johansson?
    Norm: Patterson.
    Steve: Before Liston?
    Norm: No, Johansson knocked out Liston.
    Cliff: Well, who knocked out Patterson?
    Woody: Was it Ingrid Bergman?
    Pete: No, Ingrid Bergman...
    Frasier: SHUT UP! SHUT UP! Not one more word! I came in here to discuss Ingmar Bergman, not start an Abbott and Costello routine.
    Norm: Actually, I thought it was more like Martin and Lewis, wasn't it?
    Sam: You mean Joe Louis?
    Cliff: Oh! He's the one who knocked out Floyd Patterson.
    Woody: Then who knocked out Lou Costello?
    Frasier: Apparently Ingrid Bergman! (leaves bar)
    Woody: Boy, she was tougher than she looked.
  • Community has a chain of offensive statements that probably qualifies:
    Jeff: I'm saying you're a football player. It's in your blood!
    Troy: That's racist.
    Jeff: Your soul!
    Troy: That's racist.
    Jeff: Your eyes?
    Troy: That's gay.
    Jeff: That's homophobic.
    Troy: That's black.
    Jeff: That's racist!
    Troy: Damn.
    • Later, in Season 3, following the death of Alex, Britta takes it upon herself to help the group confront their grief despite having no real experience or credentials:
    Britta: The death of a peer, especially at a young age, can trigger a whole range of emotions. As a psychologist—
    Jeff: Student.
    Britta: —I hereby offer my licensed—
    Jeff: Unlicensed.
    Britta: —services as a grief counselor.
    Jeff: Grief causer.
    Britta: If anyone needs to talk, the doctor—
    Jeff: Not even close.
    Britta: —is in.
  • The Electric Company (1971) lived for this. They did numerous sketches like this one, where Rita Moreno and Judy Graubert drove each other nuts:
    Rita: Hey, how do you like my new giggles?
    Judy: You mean goggles.
    Rita: No, no - that's what someone does for a sore throat - goggles with mouthwash.
    Judy: You mean gargles!
    Rita: No, that's what the water in the tub does - it gargles down the drain.
    Judy: No, you mean gurgles!
    Rita: No, gurgles are what we wear to look thinner. Frankly, my gurgle is killing me!
    Judy: You mean girdle!
    Rita: No! A girdle is a think you cook flapjacks on - and girdle cakes.
    Judy: You mean griddle!
    Rita: No! A griddle is a tricky question with a funny answer, like 'what has four eyes and sings through its nose'. I know a lot of great griddles.
    Judy: You mean RIDDLES!
    Rita: No! A riddle is something a worm does - it riddles off the hook!
    Judy: You mean WRIGGLES!!
    Rita: No, that's what happens when you act silly and you can't stop laughing - you have the wriggles!
    Judy: No, you mean GIGGLES!
    Rita: Oh well, for goodness' sake, that's what I said!! How do you like my new giggles??
    Judy: Oh, they're terrific - I got myself a pair here!
    • And that was just in the first episode...
  • On The Golden Girls, Sophia and Rose attempt to figure out who the president is married to:
    Rose: Well, it doesn't matter anyway, they're not married anymore. Now he's married to Nancy Davis.
    Sophia: The chick from All About Eve?
    Rose: No, that was Bette Davis.
    Sophia: That woman who beat her kids with wire hangers?
    Rose: No, you're thinking of Joan Crawford.
    Sophia: The fat cop from Highway Patrol?
    Rose: That was Broderick Crawford.
    Sophia: The president was married to Broderick Crawford?!
  • Ziva, from NCIS, absolutely constantly.
  • The Office has been doing this a lot, for example:
    Michael: I am going to donate to Afghanistanis with AIDS.
    Jim: Whoa, I think you mean the Aid to Afghanistan.
    Michael: No, I mean Afghanistanis with AIDS.
    Phyllis: Afghani.
    Michael: What?
    Phyllis: Afghani.
    Michael: That's a dog.
    Pam: No, that's Afghan.
    Michael: That's a shawl.
    Dwight: Wait, canine AIDS?
    Michael: No, humans with AIDS.
    Creed: Who has AIDS?
    Jim: Guys, the Afghanistanannis.
    Michael: Okay, you know what? No, no. AIDS is not funny. Believe me, I have tried.
    • Aaaaand a somewhat shorter one:
      Pam: It's almost time for Ultra-Feast! Where's Kevin?
      Michael: What? You wanna eat cat food with Kevin and not go to the hospital?
      Oscar: That's Fancy Feast. Ultra-Feast is something they made up so they can pig out together in the name of ceremony.
      Michael: What is Oktoberfeast? (sic)
  • From Psych:
    Shawn: "I decided to be and therefore I am." Socrates said that.
    Gus: No, that was Descartes.
    Shawn: That was the cologne I wore in high school.
    Gus: No, that was Drakkar Noir.
    Shawn: That was a wine.
    Gus: That's pinot noir.
    • Psych does this a lot. Shawn seems to do it on purpose, like many of his Book Dumb moments, mostly to annoy Gus.
  • From episode "Foiled Again" on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody:
    London: Too late, we're gonna get married, buy a big villa, and live in Acapella.
    Maddie: People sing A Capella; he lives in Acapulco.
    London: That's what my sweater's made out of.
    Maddie: That's Alpaca!
  • The Thin Blue Line:
    Goody: I don't want to buy the queen a present, sir, she's an antichrist.
    Fouler: I beg your pardon!?
    Goody: Oh, no, I mean anarchist. No, no, what's that name for someone who is out of date and does not matter anymore?
    Habib: I think you mean an anachronism.
    Goody: Yes, that's right, the Queen is an anachronism.
    Gladstone: I though that was someone who was scared of spiders.
    Fouler: No, no that is an arachnaphobic.
    Gladstone: I thought that was someone who was scared of wide open spaces.
    Habib: No, that's agoraphobics, they can't handle going outside. Arachnophobics hate spiders.
    Fouler: Look, we're talking about the queen.
    Goody: Is the Queen scared of spiders?
    Gladstone: Well I wouldn't have thought so, but it is starting to look that way.
    Goody: Perhaps that is why she is scared to go outside, sir.
  • From The West Wing:
    Bartlet: I hear you're thinking about ophthalmology.
    Ellie: Oncology.
    Bartlet: Why would you want to study people's feet?
    Ellie: That's podiatry.
    Bartlet: That's children's medicine.
    Ellie: Pediatrics.
    Bartlet: I thought it was obstetrics.
    Ellie: That's pregnant women.
    Bartlet: And what's the study of feet?
    Ellie: Dad, you're not going to make me laugh.
    Bartlet: The only thing you ever had to do to make me happy was come home at the end of the day.
  • This exchange from Wings:
    Lowell: It's like Dylan said. "Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage, for the times they are a-changing."
    Roy: I think you're confusing Bob Dylan with Dylan Thomas.
    Lowell: Don't be silly, Roy. Dylan Thomas was the poet laureate of Wales. Bob Dylan was the star of Gilligan's Island.
    Roy: No, no, no, that's Bob Denver!
    Lowell: No, Bob Denver was the guy who sang "Rocky Mountain High".
    Roy: Oh, right.
    • Incidentally, that was actually John Denver.
    • Referenced, oddly enough, in Family Guy.
    • In "Blackout Buggins", the group sees the national anthem being performed on television by a fictional rapper named "Ice Tray", leading to the following conversation.
      Antonio: Is this Ice Tray the one who was in Boyz n the Hood?
      Helen: No, that's Ice Cube.
      Antonio: Then who sang the song about the Ninja Turtle?
      Brian: That was Vanilla Ice.
      Antonio: Wait. Isn't Ice Cube the basketball player?
      Helen: No, that's Ice-T.
      Brian: No, that's the Ice Man.note 
      Antonio: I wonder if Ice-T is related to Mr. T.
      Lowell: I wonder if Mr. T is related to Mr. Coffee.
      Roy: (to Lowell) I wonder if your mother is related to your father.

    Newspaper Comics 
  • A Sunday strip of Pickles did this once. Two of the main characters did this in order to drive a third character to leave the bench they were sitting on.
  • A Phoebe and Her Unicorn strip:
    Phoebe: When I said I was "buried in homework", it was, you know ... HYPERBOLE.
    Marigold: Travelling at five times the speed of sound?
    Phoebe: That's hypersonic speed.
    Marigold: Rapid deep breathing due to anxiety?
    Phoebe: That's hyperventilating.
    Marigold: That flowering bush over...
    Phoebe: That's a hydrangea, and you're doing this on purpose now.

    Radio 
  • On Fibber McGee and Molly, the character of Mayor LaTrivia was subjected to these practically Once per Episode. They'd usually involve him innocently using some figure of speech, which Fibber or Molly (or both) would either take too literally or otherwise misinterpret, sometimes on purpose. LaTrivia's subsequent attempts to clear things up would only create more confusion, making him increasingly flustered and confused and generally reducing him to sputtering, incoherent rage by the time his visit was over.
    • One not involving Mayor LaTrivia, from "Cleaning the Closet":
      Fibber: Remember that spring we were up there, and those people were selling flowers on the street corner? Trailing arthritis, I think they were.
      Molly: You don't mean trailing arthritis, you mean trailing arbutusnote .
      Fibber: I do not; Arbutus was a guy in Shakespeare. He's the guy who stabbed Caesar in the toga.
      Molly: No, that was Brutus.
      Fibber: No, you're thinking of that fairy tale: Puss and Brutus.
      Molly: No, that wasn't Puss and Brutus, and what you mean is arbutus.
      Fibber: If that's arbutus, what's arthritis?
      Molly: Arthritis is when your joints swell.
      Fibber: Well, that's what I say. Any place that sells flowers on every street corner is a swell joint.
  • From The Reduced Shakespeare Radio Show:
    Austen: Now, Adam. Speaking of film versions of Hamlet, remember that one a few years ago with Mel Gibson?
    Adam: Was that the one with Tina Turner in it?
    Austen: No, you're thinking of Mad Max 3.
    Adam: Oh yeah, Beyond Thunderdrome. That was the one where Tina had to be rescued from Ike, because he kept hitting her, till she went...
    Austen: No, no, that's What's Love Got To Do With It.
    Adam: Mel Gibson was in What's Love Got To Do With It?
    Austen: Well, no, I didn't say that ... he wasn't ... He was Phil Spector.
  • Hello Cheeky sometimes did this, but with words instead of references.
    Tim: Look here, Cryer, that's a calumny!
    Barry: What is?
    Tim: That thing that Nelson stands on in Trafalgar Square.
    John: No, no, that's a column.
    Tim: No, that's two full stops making love.
    Barry: No, that's a colon!
    John: No, that's an army officer!
    Tim: No, no, that's a colonel! note 
    Barry: ...Isn't that what they find in nuts?
    Tim: What?
    Barry: Nuts. Nuts!
    Tim: And knickers to you, mate!
  • Hamish and Dougal's Hogmanay Frolic, introducing Tim Brooke-Taylor As Himself:
    Hamish: Oh, Mr Tim. I've always admired your musicals.
    Tim: I think you've got your Tims in a twist. Rice is the name you're looking for.
    Hamish: So you're Anneka?
    Tim: No, that's a Jewish holiday.
    Dougal: No, that was the woman with the big bottom who jumped out of helicopters.
    Hamish: And wrote Cats.
    Dougal: Yes.
    Tim: No. In any case, Tim Rice has nothing to do with Cats.
    Dougal: Oh, is he allergic?
    Hamish: Oh, I sympathise. Mrs Naughtie's pussy has often brought me out in a rash.
    Tim: (shocked) Jesus Christ!
    Hamish: Superstar! Aye, that was one of yours.

    Web Animation 
  • From Red vs. Blue:
    Doc: I'm a pacifist.
    Caboose: You're a thing that babies suck on?
    Tucker: No, dude, that's a pedophile.
    Church: Tucker, I think he means a pacifier.
    Tucker: Oh, yeah, right. Man, I was totally thinking about something else.
  • In the RWBY season 2 episode "Search and Destroy":
    Prof. Oobleck: I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles.
    Ruby: [scratching her head] Like the mushroom?
    Blake: Those are truffles.
    Ruby: Like the sprout?
    Yang: Those are brussels.

    Webcomics 
  • This trope is illustrated beautifully in a Penny Arcade strip entitled "Linguaphiles Unite".
    • According to Gabe on the podcasts, most people blame Tycho for those, even though it's his "favorite joke, ever." From the third series of D&D podcasts:
      DM: ... and he has a cataract in his left eye.
      Gabe: A boat?
      Tycho: That's a catamaran.
  • Played with in Darths & Droids with Jim. He's wrong more than he's right though.
  • From DM of the Rings:
    DM: As you look out over the water, you see many corsairs passing, making for Minas Tirith.
    Aragorn: What the heck are corsairs? You mean those leopard things that cast magic?
    Gimli: You're thinking of coeurls. A corsair is just a kind of dinosaur.
    DM: No, you're thinking of ceratosaurs. A corsair is actually just—
    Legolas: Didn't you idiots ever play Starcraft? Corsairs are flying air units!
    Aragorn: Dang, we don't have any way to fight flying units.
    DM: ATTENTION! Corsairs. Are. Sailing. Ships. OKAY?
    Legolas: I'm confused. Don't you mean galleons?
  • PvP:

    Web Video 
  • From Dragon Ball Z Abridged
    Vegeta: (Having played a musical number on Burter's corpse.) I don't even know where that's from.
    Krillin: I think that was Tetris.
    Vegeta: Isn't that what you get when you cut yourself with something rusty?
    Goku: Nope, that's rabies.
    Gohan: Actually, Dad, you contract rabies when you're bitten by an animal with the disease.
    Goku: Silly Gohan, animals don't eat people. People eat animals. Silly Gohan!
  • From This video
    Adam the Alien: Did you burrow?
    Skrufy: What's a barrow?
    Adam the Alien: A barrow is a cart, but I asked did you burrow?
    Skrufy: I don't own a donkey!
    Adam the Alien: You know that a burro is a donkey but you don't know that a barrow is a cart?
    Paul: I thought a borough was a place.
    Adam the Alien: It is.
    Paul: You said it was a donkey!
    Adam the Alien: No, that's a burro.
    Skrufy: I still don't know what a barrow is.
    Adam the Alien: A barrow is a cart.
    Paul: Never put the barrow before the burro.
    Skrufy: This is making me hungry for Mexican food.
    Adam the Alien: That's a burrito.
  • Basically this entire sketch from BriTANick. And its sequel

    Western Animation  
  • From Frisky Dingo:
    X-tacle #1: So...who's read Flowers for Algernon?
    Nearl: Ken!
    X-tacle #2: Oooh, about the kid with all the chains, and the goggles, and at the end he gets killed with a shotgun?
    X-tacles #2, #3, #4: Boosh
    X-tacle #1: That's "Harrison Bergeron."
    X-tacles #2, #3, #4: The Hollywood Squares!
    X-tacle #1: That's Tom Bergeron.
    X-tacle #2: Brother of Menelaus!
    X-tacle #1: Damn it, that's Agamemnon!
  • From The Venture Brothers:
    Jefferson Twilight: On three we give him the old Rochambeau.
    The Alchemist: Rock-paper-scissors?
    Dr. Orpheus: What does a general from the American Revolution have to do with this?
    Jefferson Twilight: American Revolution? Rochambeau sounds...sounds French to me.
    Dr. Orpheus: Yes, the Franco-American forces.
    Jefferson Twilight: They fought with Spaghetti-o's and meatballs?
    The Alchemist: Why would a company called Franco-American make Italian food?
  • Frequently toyed with on Family Guy
    • When Peter finds out Brian wants to rename the high school after Martin Luther King:
      Peter: You're gonna name the school after the star of Space: 1999?
      Brian: No, that's Martin Landau.
      Peter: Oh. The guy who played Sheneneh?
      Brian: That's Martin Lawrence.
      Peter: The drunk crooner?
      Brian: That's Dean Martin.
      Peter: The drink that's best served on the rocks?
      Brian: Martini Rossi.
      Peter: The guy on The West Wing?
      Brian: Martin Sheen.
      Peter: The guy from Platoon?
      Brian: Charlie Sheen.
      Peter: No, no, the other guy from Platoon.
      Brian: That's...
      Peter: [playfully] Come ooon...
      Brian: ahh, ahhh, Willem Dafoe?
      Peter: No, it's Tom Berenger. We were looking for Tom Berenger. Well, thanks for playing, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
      Brian: Awww, that's OK, I had a lot of fun. I'm a big fan of the show— wait a minute!
    • Also:
      Lois: Okay, one more minute, and then if there are two pink lines...
      Peter: Oh god, I hope you're not pregnant, we can't afford another kid. We already got Chris, Stewie, Richie, Joanie, Greg, Marsha, Bobby, Jan, Mike Seaver, Carol Seaver, Boner, Urkel, Mr. Furley...
      Brian: Peter those aren't your kids; that's the Nick at Nite lineup.
      Peter: Blanka, Zangeif, Chun-Li, Guile, E. Honda...
      Brian: That's Street Fighter.
      Peter: Red, blue, green...
      Brian: Those are colors.
  • SpongeBob SquarePants: In "Sleepy Time", when SpongeBob goes into Sandy's dreams and joins her for some freefalling.
    SpongeBob: This seems kinda dangerous!
    Sandy: Not as long as you got a big ol' parachute!
    SpongeBob: Okay! (inflates his shoes)
    Sandy: Not "pair of shoes", SpongeBob, parachute!
    SpongeBob: Gotcha! (takes out a tropical bird)
    Sandy: Not a parakeet! PARA—*WHAM* ...medic.

    Real Life 
  • Old joke here - three old men:
    Old man #1: Windy, isn't it?
    Old man #2: It's Thursday.
    Old man #3: So am I, let's get something to drink.
  • And in the same spirit
    Old man: Look at my new watch!
    Young man: What kind is it?
    Old man: About three-thirty.
  • An absolutely epic one from Facebook
  • And then, there is this one from Tumblr
  • Threads featuring these are very popular on Reddit and other social media, often taking the form of long strings of "That's not X, that's Y. X is [lengthy definition of a completely different word that sounds kinda like X]".
  • Twitter users attempting to figure out what Rick and Morty is.

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