The three men are startled by a huge buck and discharge their weapons prematurely. Nonetheless, the buck goes down.
The men are debating who actually killed the buck when a game warden comes along. The warden examines the carcass and determines that the preacher fired the kill shot.
"How did you know it was me?' asks the preacher.
The warden replies "It went in one ear and out the other"
Joke Poo: The Marketing Spin
An influencer, a politician, and a journalist were workshopping taglines for a new brand of disposable diapers. They all contribute to the brainstorm, but are prematurely dismissed because the head of marketing suddenly exclaims, “We’ve already got the perfect tagline that’ll sell these!”
The influencer, politician and journalist grumble at each other how ridiculous that marketing team is when suddenly a janitor walks by and they ask him if he knows the new tagline. He replies, “Yes, and it’s awful!”
“How did you know?” they asked.
The janitor replies, “It’s what always comes out the other end.”
Alright, let’s analyze this joke.
Core Elements:
- Setup: An accountant, a lawyer, and a preacher go hunting. This sets up an expectation of a professional disagreement or perhaps a moral dilemma since these professions are often associated with distinct worldviews and (stereotypical) behaviors.
- Premise: They accidentally shoot a buck. The ambiguity of who actually fired the fatal shot creates the conflict.
- Punchline: The game warden determines the preacher killed it because “it went in one ear and out the other.” This utilizes a common idiom to cleverly (and cynically) associate the preacher with ineffectual communication, implying his sermons are meaningless or not retained by listeners.
- Irony: The humor lies in the inversion. One expects the preacher’s words to have a profound impact, but the joke suggests the opposite.
Enrichment and New Humor:
Let’s focus on the “went in one ear and out the other” idiom and its connection to communication, preachers, and perhaps even animal anatomy.
Interesting Tidbit: Deer actually do have excellent hearing. Their large, swiveling ears allow them to pinpoint the source of sounds with remarkable accuracy, crucial for detecting predators. However, their brains primarily filter for threats. So, maybe the preacher did preach something profound, but the deer’s brain just classified it as “non-threatening background noise.”
New Joke/Observation:
Joke:
Why did the deer ignore the preacher’s sermon?
Because its brain tagged it as “Non-threatening. Subject: Repentance. Priority: Low. Route: In one ear, straight out the other. Override: Available for rustling leaves and potential predators only.”
Witty Observation:
It’s ironic. We expect preachers to have the impact of a high-powered rifle, but sometimes their words are like a gentle breeze to the ears – appreciated, but ultimately passing through without sticking. Unless, of course, they preach about deer hunting ethics. THEN you have their attention.
Bonus:
Did You Know?
The phrase “in one ear and out the other” has been around for centuries. Plautus, a Roman playwright, used a similar expression in his comedies! So, the next time you accuse someone of not listening, you’re actually participating in a comedic tradition that’s over 2,000 years old. And while the Romans had preachers, I can’t find the joke they made about that. I guess it really did go in one ear and out the other.