美国国家公共电台 NPR DAAAAAAAD! On Father's Day, An Homage To The Terrible Jokes They Tell

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

A warning for any sullen¹ teens listening - our next piece is about dad jokes, that groan-y (ph), goofy humor favored by fathers everywhere.

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UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What type of food is good for your feet? Shoe-shi (ph). (Laughter).

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GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes, shoe-shi - that's one of the countless² dad jokes floating around this Father's Day. It's from a dad joke battle on YouTube that only gets sillier.

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UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Why didn't the melons get married? Because they cantaloupe (laughter).

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GARCIA-NAVARRO: Love that laugh (laughter). So brace³ yourself kiddos; NPR's Neda Ulaby has more.

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE⁴: The ubiquity of dad jokes goes all the way to the top. Last Thanksgiving, President Obama made the ceremony of pardoning the turkey second to...

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BARACK OBAMA: Embarrassing my daughters with a corny-copia (ph) of dad jokes about turkeys.

ULABY: Our last president said he plans to tell dad jokes every Thanksgiving from now on.

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OBAMA: No way I'm cutting this habit cold turkey.

ULABY: Meanwhile, Nickelodeon in Australia broadcast a fake public service announcement about the dangers of dad jokes.

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ISAAC: Dad asked me - have you heard about the new movie, "Constipation"? I was all like, what? No. And he said, it never came out.

DAVE BARRY: Somebody has to do this. If I don't carry on that tradition, who will?

ULABY: Humorist Dave Barry says he learned how to make dad jokes from his dad, who loved a long, slow build to a payoff.

BARRY: He would say - OK, what are those things that are in the army that roll along and they're on treads? And he keeps giving you hints and hints. And finally, you would go, tanks? And he'd go, you're welcome. My dad lived for those moments.

ULABY: To figure out what makes those jokes specifically dad jokes, I asked a behavioral scientist. Peter McGraw studies humor. He says it's rooted in play.

PETER MCGRAW: Dad jokes are just a verbal form of play. It's just a different way to tickle⁵ and roughhouse with your kids.

ULABY: You could argue that dad jokes fall into that dumb-dad stereotype⁶ that can get a little annoying, the ineffectual, funny fathers you see on TV like on "The Simpsons" or "Modern Family." #StopItDad - Dad can't even tell a good joke. But McGraw says criticizing dad jokes misses the point.

MCGRAW: If you have dad jokes in your life, it means that you have a dad in your life. And it means that you have a dad who has a sense of humor and who is interacting with his children and having fun with them.

ULABY: The fun of dad jokes makes them a perfect tool for one Muslim-American activist⁷ who swats down Islamophobes on Twitter.

QASIM RASHID: People come to me constantly and say - is Sharia law taking over America? And I say, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure Shakira law is because hips⁸ don't lie.

ULABY: Qasim Rashid says his corny dad jokes lighten up a Twitter feed mostly about Muslim rights, civil rights and women's rights.

RASHID: We live in a society of toxic⁹ masculinity.

ULABY: So much aggression¹⁰ and violence committed by men, he says.

RASHID: And I think a lot of that has to do with men refusing to let their guard down. Men are refusing to laugh at themselves or show sympathy or empathy or emotion because they see that as weakness.

ULABY: Dad jokes give men a way to be sweet, silly and connect with people they love. For the last word on dad jokes, humorist Dave Barry.

BARRY: We're all Americans. And when you go into the bathroom, you're an American. And when you come out of the bathroom, you're an American. But what are you when you're in the bathroom? European.

ULABY: Happy Father's Day. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

1 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

2 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

3 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 tickle   

v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒

参考例句：

• Wilson was feeling restless. There was a tickle in his throat.威尔逊只觉得心神不定。嗓子眼里有些发痒。
• I am tickle pink at the news.听到这消息我高兴得要命。

6 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

10 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。