Knock-knock jokes involve a dialogue between the joker and audience, with five lines and a pun in the final line. Variations include breaking the formula or incorporating “who” into the punchline. Series of jokes can also be told for effect.
Unlike many jokes which are carefully told monologues by the joker, jokes engage the joker and the audience in dialogue. There are many such jokes, but there are some shared characteristics.
Formula. All jokes have five lines. The first two lines are always the same:
Jokester: Knock knock.
Audience: Who’s there?
This exchange is followed by another pair of lines. In the third line, the prankster gives a partial answer which is a real English word and generally makes sense. In the fourth line, the audience repeats the answer from the third line and adds the question “who?” like this:
Jokester: Sam e Janet.
Audience: Sam and Janet who?
In the final line, the prankster almost always puns on the answer in the third line by adding a next word or phrase that transforms the meaning because it sounds like something else. The closing line of the joke we’re using as an example is:
Jokester: Sam and Janet night.
Quickly said, the couple’s name audibly transforms into the name of a song from the musical South Pacific: “Some Enchanted Evening.” Some pranksters actually sing the last line, using the appropriate tune.
Variations on knocking. There are also self-reflective jabs that poke fun at audience expectations of how the joke will work, like this one:
Knock to knock.
Who is there?
Banana.
Bananas who?
to knock
Who is there?
Banana.
Bananas who?
to knock
Who is there?
Banana.
Bananas who?
Orange are you glad he didn’t say “banana” again? (Are not you happy…)
Here, instead of playfully using the word “banana” in the punchline, the prankster uses the name of another fruit. This type of joke works by breaking the formula, while still using the concept of puns. Sometimes, the “who” word from the question is incorporated into the knock-knock punchline, to create a variation like this:
Knock to knock.
Who is there?
Boo.
Boo chi?
Oh, don’t cry!
Another variation is the knock-knock series, where a series of jokes are told in sequence for effect. One set works like this:
Knock to knock.
Who is there?
Ann.
Anna who?
Anna’s Easter Bunny. (An Easter bunny.)
Knock to knock.
Who is there?
Anna.
Anna who?
Anna another Easter bunny. (Another Easter Bunny.)
Knock to knock.
Who is there?
Mauro.
Mauro who?
Maura Easter bunnies. (More Easter Bunnies.)
Knock to knock.
Who is there?
Howie.
Howie chi?
Howie are you gonna get rid of all these easter bunnies? (How are we going to get rid of all these Easter bunnies?)
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