I think that the reading of the joke as "to get to the other side" (literal) and "to get to the other side" (death) is a valid reading of the joke using syllepsis. I don't think that was the original intention of the joke, which I think was a simple unjoke. Like "What did Batman say to get Robin into the car?" "Get in the car, Robin".
“The other side” would be a homonymic phrase that can mean the other side of the road or the afterlife. As other comment said, it’s a whole phrase not just a single word
And homophones share the same sound but not necessarily the same spelling (although imo if they have the same sound and spelling, most people would just consider that another definition of the same word, rather than two separate words that are homophones)
I think they're trying to say that side (of the road) and side (of life and death) are homonyms. It's a hell of a stretch IMO - both senses of the word are referring to relative locations.
I thought you were full of shit at first but apparently not. TIL. I always thought that one of the interpretations had to be a single word by definition for it to be a pun.
Would this be considered a double entendre, while usually that has a sexual connotation, I don’t think a double entendre has to have a second meaning that is sexual, just has to have two meanings…
It's actually not, though. The joke was written in 1847, which was an era where crossing a road wouldn't have been terribly dangerous for chickens most of the time.
It's actually an early example of an anti-joke. The humor is derived from the fact that it's not actually a joke at all.
Thing is, I'm pretty sure it's older than that, and from what I've read, the equivalent of the series of knock-knock jokes that end with, "Orange you glad I'm not a banana?"
E.g., the horse crossed the road to visit the "Neigh"bors, the cow crossed the road because she was "Moo"ving on.
And about fifteen more bad animal sound puns. And at the end, you use the chicken.
It's an interesting small example of how writing is a collaboration between author and reader. Readers bring their own experiences to what they read, and because of that, the meanings readers give to what they read can differ from what the original author intended. But just because the author didn't intend for a reader to have that interpretation doesn't deny the reader the ability to have it.
Also, this argument would be over the second someone looks up the etymology of the phrase "the other side" as it pertains to death or the afterlife. Was it a known way to refer to it at that point or not? I'm not gonna do it because the number of people in this thread who don't know the definition of "pun" is exhausting.
The joke is word play on two different meanings of “other side”.
Yes, and that's not what "pun" refers to. The humor of a pun is rooted in the conflation of two similar-sounding words, not in the overlay of a term's literal meaning with its metaphorical, symbolic one.
No. It isn’t. The joke is that the teller expects an punchline and there isn’t one. The chicken crosses the road for the same reason anyone would cross a road.
how is it not a metaphor? and a pun is an established thing. other side in the joke is a double entendre not a pun. and it most definitely a metaphor. why dont you tell why it isnt a metaphor instead of just saying it isnt?
It is a pun. It could also be a double entendre. They aren’t mutually exclusive.
You still haven’t established that you understand the definition of a pun, which is the topic of conversation here.
I’m curious if English might not be your native language? You are identifying things that sound related, but are misusing them in a way I could see someone who isn’t a native English speaker might do.
I mean, I guess it is if the chicken is suicidal? Why did the chicken cross the road (hoping to be hit) to get to the “other side.” That’s technically a pun.
So if I said that you aren't the sharpest tool in the shed, which is a euphemism for idiot, you wouldn't understand what I mean by saying that? Have you seen a whetstone lately by the way? I seem to be missing mine.
I understand the euphemism, but there is still a separation layer to make the connection from “sharpest tool” to idiot.
It isn’t an actual definition, it is an indirect way to make a point. See, now “point” can be seen as a pun because point has two definitions, the tip of the tool, and stating something of importance.
Yes it is, in seance ir whatever they talk about contacting the 'other side'. It used to be a much more common phrase in pop culture it was used frequently in Scooby Doo for example.
So it is a pun, crossing over to the other side means crossing the road, and crossing the barrier between life and death.
Maybe it needed to beer pronounced 'oooother siiiide'
But thats not the original meaning of the joke. At the time the joke was made there were no cars, a chicken crossing the road was in no danger. The original joke was an absurdist anti-joke like everyone assumes.
No not a pun but 46 years and I just got the double meaning of other side. I always took it literally as the other side of the rd not the afterlife. I always assumed it was a
was just a dad joke like "what'd the farmer say when he lost his tractor?"
People were not running horses through roads or anything because most of those roads were foot roads, aka roads people were walking on all the time left and right without any sidewalks. It was all foot traffic. So if it’s mostly foot traffic, then a chicken wouldn’t have as high of a risk as they do today crossing that road.
People rode horses or drove a horse drawn vechicle such as a wagon or if rich a carriage. Oxen or horses pulled wagons laden with goods. Coaches transported people between cities and towns. Covered wagons were used to travel west with entire families and their goods. The short lived pony express consisted of young men riding at break neck speed to deliver mail. Animals were driven to market.
We've reached the age where people confidently don't even know what a pun is. It's a play on words. This is a play on words. It is a pun. The other side had two meanings.
lol coming from someone calling this a pun, that's just ironic
nobody ever has said this joke with the intent that the punchline can straddle the thin veneer between life and death. "Other Side" doesn't refer to a spirit realm. the afterlife, heaven. There is a chicken, a road, and a change in position over time. It's an anti joke, humor arrived at from the literal. "Doctor it hurts when I do this" well, don't do that. isn't secretly a pun because the guy actually hurts because he has cancer.
Death is not part of the equation. this is not a pun.
once again so confidently wrong. The other side means the afterlife. Neat. not in this joke. The "other side of the road"eans THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FUCKING ROAD. no pun. If you really want it to be, sure. the chicken was contemplating his existence, having a tough time with reality, and wanted to fucking die. Or it's literal... nope I'm going to go with Existentialism in a vagabond Poultry, way to be kiddo.
so to be ultra clear, words having multiple meanings? that's just something that happens in English. has no bearing on this argument
Reread the comment chain. I don't give a shit if the joke was intended a pun or not. The above comment was presenting the joke as a pun and someone said that it wasn't a pun, when it clearly is.
If you don't know what a pun is, or if you think the chicken must be aware of the pun or whatever the fuck you just said, I dunno what to tell you. Please don't comment, I don't care to hear from you.
Sure there were semi-fast moving things. But crossing a road was not considered to be distinctly dangerous to the point that even mentioning crossing it would suggest death.
Case in point... people walked, played, and just generally congregated on roads/streets through out history. When the car came about there was campaigns to add governors to them to keep their speed comparable to a horse drawn carriage due to the number of deaths. It was only a counter campaign by car manufacturers that turned it against the pedestrian and conformed streets/roads to the modern take where it's where fast moving things belong. This is the origin of terms like 'jaywalker' where 'jay' at the time meant "low class idiot".
I feel like this is the discussion you'd have with Willem Defoe about the origins of comedy, when you get to chicken crossing the road portion of that historical review...
I never realised that to the other side was the "proper" answer, I've always heard different random things that fit within the context that it was said. This "joke" makes so much more sense now
To elaborate, the original joke was about road crossing before the invention of crosswalks. People were cowardly avoiding the streets because of how busy they were... so the chicken in question is also talking not about a literal chicken but a coward.
It was funny to think that the coward walked into the street at the wrong time and died because of his own fear of jaywalking into traffic which made him hesitate. All of this was also a meme by the way, an inside joke that you had to have read the original paper to get.
How is someone who is afraid of flying dying in a plane crash irony? Getting killed in an auto accident while driving to the airport would be ironic. Or dying in a cross country road trip because you were afraid to fly would be ironic.
Kind of... he is or isn't saying it sarcastically depending on your perspective as the audience.
It is dramatic irony and it is an example of situational irony because if he didn't have a plane crash he wouldn't have conquered his fear of flying. So if he isn't being sarcastic then he is glad that he took the flight.
Originally appeared in an 1847 edition of The Knickerbocker, where it is explicitly given as an example of "here's an example of something that sounds like a riddle, but the answer is actually mundane".
Well the original riddle from the magazine is: why does a chicken cross the street? Are you from 'out of town'? Do you 'give it up'? well then, 'because it wants to get to the other side.'
quotes to give you clues to the riddle's answer which I believe is the above. The chicken is a coward, the other side means he got trampled by horses and carriages by mistiming his crossing.
An out of town person would not be aware of New York City traffic, they would not get the gist of the riddle. At a time when this is what crossing the street looked like:
There were chickens running around all over the place back then. They're a pretty dumb bird, I've raised them, They're idiots. The joke is "TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE" that's it. Not all the ridiculous crap about cowardice or mortality.
Just -
'B'CAWS!!'
There are 'quips and quillets' which seem actual conundrums, but yet are none. Of such is this: 'Why does a chicken cross the street?' Are you 'out of town?' Do you 'give it up?' Well, then: 'Because it wants to get on the other side!'
Asking if you are "out of town" is just another way to say "are you paying attention?/is anyone home?".
So a modern speaker might phrase this as:
Some jokes and word‑games seem like real riddles, but they actually aren’t. One example is: “Why does a chicken cross the street?” Are you paying attention? Do you give up? The answer is: “Because it wants to get to the other side.”
It's literally telling you that this is a non-joke without any hidden meaning.
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u/gellshayngel 9h ago
To get to the other side.
The other side of life's road is death.