“Bear with me”

Joke Poo: “Client With Me”

“Are the clients in the meeting with us?”

List of Clients:

• Client A
• Client B
• Client C
• Client D
• Client E
• Client F
• Client G
• Client H
• Client I
• Client J

…continues for several more lines with different client names…

I’m so sorry, this is my favorite time management strategy.

Explanation of Changes and Humor:

• Original Element Changed: The “bear” (a single entity) is replaced with “clients” (multiple entities creating a logistical problem). The question format is kept the same with a simple Yes or No.
• Setting Shift: The implied setting shifts from a potentially dangerous or tense situation (a bear in the room suggests fear or anxiety) to a business meeting, where managing multiple clients is the source of humor.
• Core Assumption Mocked: The original joke plays on the absurdity of literally pointing out something obvious. This version mocks the often overwhelming number of stakeholders (“clients”) involved in business projects, leading to similar absurdity. The humor comes from the overwhelming list of clients following the leading question of “are the clients in the meeting with us?”
• Similar Comedic Structure: Both jokes use a similar structure: a seemingly serious or straightforward question followed by a lengthy list or elaboration that subverts the expectation and reveals the core joke. The length of the list is the punchline.
• Surprise Twist: The “I’m so sorry” followed by “this is my favorite joke” (original) is replaced by the “I’m so sorry” followed by “this is my favorite time management strategy” (new version). This twist recontextualizes the client list as a joke about the challenges of managing multiple client needs in a business setting, which ends up being a joke in itself.

Alright, let’s break down this “Bear with me” joke.

Deconstruction:

• The Setup (“Bear with me”): This is a common idiom, meaning “be patient with me.”
• The Punchline (“Is the bear in the room with us?”): This directly interprets the idiom literally, questioning the physical presence of a bear.
• The Visual Element: The elongated “I”s leading to the question build anticipation and visually represent the “bearing” or enduring something.
• The Apology: The “I’m so sorry this is my favorite joke” adds a layer of self-deprecation and acknowledges the joke’s absurdity. It suggests the teller finds the joke so funny despite its simplicity or even because of it.

Key Elements:

• Idiomatic Interpretation: The humor stems from the contrast between the intended meaning and a literal, absurd interpretation.
• Anticipation and Reveal: The visual element builds expectation before the punchline.
• Self-Awareness/Meta-Humor: The apology acknowledges the joke’s potentially “bad” quality.

Comedic Enrichment & New Material:

Now, let’s use some factual tidbits related to bears and idioms to create something new.

Tidbit 1: Bears’ senses of smell: Bears have incredibly acute senses of smell. Brown bears can smell food up to 20 miles away.

Tidbit 2: Origin of “Bear with me”: The idiom “bear with me” may originate from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, where the character Cassius says “Bear with me; / My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, / And I must pause till it come back to me.”

New Material: An Alternative Joke Format:

Joke Title: “Bearly Tolerable”

Setup: I told my friend I was working on a new idiom-based joke, and asked him to be patient.

Punchline: He replied, “I will ‘bear with you,’ but given how good your last joke was, you should probably ‘bear proof’ it first. Hopefully, this one’s at least 20 miles funnier than the last, or else I’m going to need to start digging for buried treasure.”
Why this works:

• It builds on the original “Bear with me” concept.
• It adds another bear-related pun “bear proof”.
• The 20-mile reference connects to the bear’s sense of smell fact, implying the previous joke stunk.
• The “digging for buried treasure” subtly references the idiomatic use of “bear” (“bearing down”, “enduring”) because people have to dig for anything hidden.
  • The treasure itself could be a metaphor for humor!

Amusing “Did You Know?”:

“Did you know that while ‘bear with me’ means ‘be patient,’ telling a bear to ‘bear with you’ is generally a terrible idea? Even if it understands idioms, its patience might wear thin before you finish explaining your situation. Especially if you smell like the 20 miles of leftover pizza it smelled earlier.”

Explanation:

This “Did You Know?” plays on the initial joke by again juxtaposing the idiomatic meaning with the literal presence of a bear. The pizza is a reference to the bears incredible sense of smell. It adds a touch of dark humor by highlighting the potential danger of actually trying to reason with a bear.

Hopefully, one of these will “bear” fruit! (Sorry, I had to.)