Shoutout to the guy who corrected my pun setup at the open mic last night

I was telling a dad joke about a broken clock and everyone groaned in the wrong way, but this older dude leaned over and showed me I was burying the punchline with too many details (like the fact it was a digital clock, not analog). He said the best dad jokes need 3 seconds max from setup to punch, and he proved it by nailing a pun about a sandwich walking into a bar in under 5 words. Has anyone else noticed that adding extra setup kills the groan factor every time?

3 comments

3 Comments

grantp282d ago

Why drag it out when the whole point of a dad joke is the cringe factor of the slow build? The longer you stretch the setup, the more time people have to brace for the groan, which actually makes the punchline hit harder because they're already annoyed. Sometimes you gotta let the audience squirm a little for a few extra seconds to really earn that laugh.

the_linda2d ago

Three seconds max is my rule for a dad joke setup, @grantp28, because any longer and you lose the surprise that makes it work. Dragging it out just makes people check their phones instead of bracing for the groan, and that kills the whole rhythm. Keep it tight, let the cringe hit fast, and you get a better payoff without the audience zoning out.

robinson.hannah2d ago

My buddy Mike tried a pun about a broken clock at a bar last month and spent 20 seconds explaining it was his grandma's antique one from the 70s. By the time he got to the punchline, three people had walked away. @the_linda is totally right about the 3 second rule, he would've landed it if he'd just said "clock with a dead battery" and hit them fast.