A knock-knock joke is a special kind of pun that always starts with someone saying, "Knock-knock!" and then someone else asking, "Who's there?"
The basic format is as follows:
Joke-Teller: "Knock-knock!"
Joke-Hearer: "Who's there?"
Teller: "[name or word]"
Hearer: "[name or word] who?"
Teller: "[answer]"
Knock-knock jokes come from "do you know?" jokes in the 1900s and became very popular in the 1930s.[1]
An example of a knock-knock joke is:
Kenny: "Knock knock!"
Lenny: "Who's there?"
Kenny: "Wire!"
Lenny: "Wire who?"
Kenny: "Wire you asking me that question?"
"Knock knock" was the catchphrase of music hall performer Wee Georgie Wood, who was recorded in 1936 saying it in a radio play, but he simply used the words as a reference to his surname and did not use it as part of the well-known joke formula. The format was well known in the UK and US in the 1950s and 1960s before falling out of favor.
Knock-knock jokes have been used by Mr. Moose from Captain Kangaroo.
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
