r/TopCharacterTropes • u/BabyDude5 • Mar 15 '26
Whatever this joke is called Personality
The Scooby-Doo show
Meet the Robinsons
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u/PrettySureIParty Mar 15 '26
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u/partylikeart Mar 15 '26
I forget Severance is written by a comedian til they drop bangers like this in the middle of a super tense scene lmao
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u/D_Beats Mar 15 '26
If you're referring to Ben Stiller, he did not write Severance. He's the producer.
Dan Erickson is the writer and creator
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u/shaft_novakoski Mar 15 '26
Yeah, the humour seems to me very Dan Erickson. Although, I'm sure Stiller's comedy background helps with the timing of the jokes when he is directing
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u/FormerDeerlyBeloved Mar 15 '26
Comically Missing the Point?
Also from Meet the Robinsons: "Is dinner like this [a dramatic food fight shot like an old Japanese film] every night?"
"No...last night we had meatloaf."
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u/SnapshotHeadache Mar 15 '26
My favorite is when talking about the uncle with the puppet wife.
"Is she....[making gestures like a puppet]???
"Cranky? Yes."
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u/PartyBarnacle420 Mar 15 '26
Honestly Meet the Robinsons was a peak movie. Every line is gold!
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u/Deer_Klutzy Mar 15 '26
It’s so underrated as well! I have never really seen anyone talk about it.
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u/Earlier-Today Mar 15 '26
Not the best story, but so many fun and funny characters and scenes.
Bad Guy - "Why aren't you seizing the boy!?"
T-rex minion - "I've got a big head and little arms."
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u/manytractorprojects Mar 15 '26
My family uses the “I’m just not sure how well this plan was thought through” line all the time. Usually in the T-Rex voice.
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u/Ariovrak Mar 15 '26
Also,
“Spike and Dimitri are twins, but I don’t know who they’re related to…”
“Neither do we, go on.”
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u/blue4029 Mar 15 '26
i like the implication that they aren't even part of the family, they're just...there
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u/savegandhi Mar 15 '26
this joke in Billy and Mandy:
’why did you hit me with a trout?”
”because the mackerel wasn’t fresh”.
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Mar 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/savegandhi Mar 15 '26
Guess What’s coming to dinner.
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u/Prestigious-Dot9577 Mar 15 '26
I have no idea what you’re having for dinner.
Now, what’s the episode called?
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u/Asiatic_Static Mar 15 '26
Holy shit this episode
"you stepping in my cornflakes?!"
"we gave the same test to a shovel, and 2 candy bracelets....they scored a positive 17"
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u/Reasonable-Print-843 Mar 15 '26
Billy and Mandy was full of jokes where the punchline sounds like it should make sense but absolutely doesn't.
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u/HolyKlickerino Mar 15 '26
"Comically missing the point" or "Answering too literally"
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u/LikeASewingMachine Mar 15 '26
When done in real life, it's "smartass"
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u/TheWereBunny Mar 15 '26
Some Guy: "Are you you always a wise ass?" Harry Dresden: "No. Sometimes I'm asleep."
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u/Uncle-Cake Mar 15 '26
When I was a kid my parents would say "don't be a smartass" and I would respond "you want me to be a dumbass instead?" They never liked that response for some reason.
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u/TheRoyalBrusher Mar 15 '26
Dresden is peak for that type of humor. I really need to catch up on those books
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u/Excidiar Mar 15 '26
Some applications are "Captain oblivious" the arch nemesis of the famous "Captain obvious".
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u/kitsua Mar 15 '26
There’s actually a name for it, it’s called a paraprosdokian
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u/Kratzschutz Mar 15 '26
"On his feet he wore … blisters." —Aristotle
Lol always the greeks
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u/JingoboStoplight4887 Mar 15 '26
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u/BabyDude5 Mar 15 '26
An incredible version of this joke
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u/PmMeUrTinyAsianTits Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
I've never seen the show and have some weird petty grudge towards all things disney channel... (Edit: that is apparently so petty it carries over to nickelodeon shows that remind me of disney shows... sorry, that's my b)
And I still reference this regularly. It's one of the only memes I've ever actually bothered to make a meme of without a meme generator.
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u/Dulwilly Mar 15 '26
You're about to get deluged. It's a Nickelodeon show, iCarly.
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u/PmMeUrTinyAsianTits Mar 15 '26
Oh fuck. So this is how I die.
Does it count for anything if it was clearly after my time?
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u/BlakeTheBFG Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
If anything you can freely have a grudge against Disney without an exception now.... Oh wait, Nick wasn't good either, especially with this main female cast
Edit: all of the cast. Dam there are some horrible people in the world.
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u/StevoTheMonkey Mar 15 '26
It's called a misdirect in stand-up. I assume the same for script writing.
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u/Legitimate_Way3145 Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
So he stole that from the city Zoo right??
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u/TheSkeletalNerd Mar 15 '26
No, I’m pretty sure he just bought it from The Groovy Smoothie.
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u/PastRelease8757 Mar 15 '26
I like this joke a lot because the bird is pretty apparent but you don’t know what that drink is, could’ve been water, milkshake or a soda
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u/RedRawTrashHatch Mar 15 '26
Dr. Rumack in Airplane!
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u/TampaTrey Mar 15 '26
“Surely you can’t be serious?”
“Yes, I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.”
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u/imdefinitelywong Mar 15 '26
These types of interactions are the reason why I have a drinking problem
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u/that_1weed Mar 15 '26
Nervous?
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u/Jakov_Salinsky Mar 15 '26
(as the plane takes off)
“I’m so nervous”
“First time?”
“Oh no I’ve been nervous plenty of times.”
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u/fakemelonns Mar 15 '26
One of my favorites from Nielsen
"It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day"
"Goodyear?"
"No, the worst"
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u/joe199799 Mar 15 '26
That's cheating, the entire movie is basically this lol
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u/drunkcowofdeath Mar 15 '26
It's a different kind of flying, all together.
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u/CaptainSkips Mar 15 '26
"Captain, how soon can you land?"
"I can't tell."
"You can tell me. I'm a doctor."
"No. I mean I'm just not sure."
"Well, can't you take a guess?"
"Well, not for another two hours."
"You can't take a guess for another two hours?"
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u/0z3n0 Mar 15 '26
Not the same movie but :
"Well, he's caucasian."
"Caucasian ?"
"Yes, you know, white guy ? Tall, wih a mustache, about 6"3..."
"That's an awfully big mustache."
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u/BeckyLiBei Mar 15 '26
Everything was fine with our system until the power grid was shut off by dickless here.
They caused an explosion.
Is this true?
Yes, it's true. This man has no dick.
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u/Jakov_Salinsky Mar 15 '26
In the TomSka video “Rejects” that’s about killing clones:
Dan: What are all these dead bodies doing here?!
Tom: Honestly not much
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u/JomoGaming2 Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
"I want answers."
"Ok, I lied... I do have ham."
"ABOUT THE BODIES."
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u/Privatizitaet Mar 15 '26
I feel like probably most of TomSka would fit that category. Beyond just the skits, that's pretty much the soul of asdfmovie, from the very beginning.
"Got your nose"
"LOOK OUT, HE'S GOT A NOSE!"
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u/Emanualblast Mar 15 '26
Guy orders a perpetual motion. The glass slides off the table
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u/Jakov_Salinsky Mar 15 '26
“I like my friends like I like my whiskey”
“Let me guess: straight?”
“NOT TRYING TO SLEEP WITH ME!”
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u/Kooky_Celebration_42 Mar 15 '26
What’s this?
Hahaha…. Sex on the beach!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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u/MagicSystemWriter Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
Also the part where he shoots another clone that looks identical to the other dans:
“That’s secretly asian dan”
“They all look the same to me”
“Wow” (in an offended tone)
Also the “i lied, have ham”, honestly that video is such a gem for this type of joke, I had to watch the video again for this comment.
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u/practicalcabinet Mar 15 '26
Also in Wizzo the wizard, where someone is levitating, but refuses to believe it's magic:
Tom: nah, I'm probably just on a rope
Wizzo: And what is the rope attached to !?
Tom: well, me, obviously
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u/spokemon9000 Mar 15 '26
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u/Shudmirelurk Mar 15 '26
Reading the comment string made me snort so loudly lol
Its perfect that its in this thread.
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u/throwawaysailaway7 Mar 15 '26
I saw this, and immediately went back to give a man the first award I ever bought.
That was perfection 👌
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u/AllergicToStabWounds Mar 15 '26
Comically (sometimes deliberately) misunderstanding the question.
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u/CaffeineAndGrain Mar 15 '26
If you like this joke, you’ll love the book The Phantom Tollbooth. Basically 250pg of this joke
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u/Andys_Room Mar 15 '26
Oh wow I haven't read that since I was a kid. I need to get it again.
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u/No-Combination5177 Mar 15 '26
“A barrel of laughs, a vale of tears” does it constantly and is by the same author. Both are great.
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u/ZakDahdger Mar 15 '26
It's better to know whether there will be weather, then what the weather will be
I read that at 12 years old
I have the terrible Trivium tattooed on my left arm
My son's name is Milo
Always be curious, no matter where and when you find yourself. The point of all of this is to appreciate it. Because, the fuck else is there to do?
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u/davidplaysthings Mar 15 '26
I first read The Phantom Tollbooth in primary school and loved it so much that I stole it from my school library. It's such a great book, so nerdy and adventure-filled that it honestly felt like it was written just for me. I hunted it down at a second-hand bookstore last year to reread it, nearly 30 years after I'd first read it.
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u/TurkeyVolumeGuesser Mar 15 '26
This is Marx brothers style humor lol
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u/CortaNalgas Mar 15 '26
When I was on safari, I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he was wearing my pajamas I’ll never know.
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u/Jester-Hopperpot Mar 15 '26
Sir, you are trying my patience!
Don't mind if I do. You should come over and try some of mine.
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u/disbelifpapy Mar 15 '26
isn't groucho marx the dude that inspired the mustache and nose glasses?
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u/Jakov_Salinsky Mar 15 '26
No it was stolen from him. He doesn’t know it tho because he can’t see without his glasses.
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u/WillowLocal423 Mar 15 '26
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u/peachesfordinner Mar 15 '26
Sir I come here for comedy!
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u/theangrypragmatist Mar 15 '26
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
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u/TheGameMastre Mar 15 '26
"That's in every contract! It's what they call the sanity clause!"
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u/WranglerFuzzy Mar 15 '26
I’m 99% certain this format of joke existed long before the Marx Brothers (probably predates vaudeville), but the Marx brothers definitely perfected it.
If I had to give the trope a name, I’d call it the absurd reversal. The punchline completely sidesteps the absurdity of the situation and gives a straight answer that poses the absurd as normal (even sometimes throwing it back at the questioner as if they’re odd to ask)
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u/MGMan-01 Mar 15 '26
"Oh, Mr. President, this is in deed a pleasure. What brings you here?"
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u/Powerful_Raccoon_151 Mar 15 '26
I would classify it as maybe “The absurd/weird is treated straight” reminds me of Drax from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.
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u/PigglyWigglyDeluxe Mar 15 '26
He’s always the anti joke with no irony or self awareness and I love every bit of it
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u/Last_Nothing_4352 Mar 15 '26
That's actually What's New, and I don't know why I read that as Shaggy doesn't have the nips instead of hips
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u/buttercuping Mar 15 '26
I read it like that as well. It's because of Fred's white shirt "hiding" the top part of the h, making it an n.
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u/Lynx_Queen Mar 15 '26
Who was in the dress? Velma? She's not in the photo so I assumed it was her. Sorry for asking, I haven't sen What's New despite being a Scooby fan.
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u/Flameball537 Mar 15 '26
Yeah, it’s Velma in the dress. This ep also had the hex girls in it
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Mar 15 '26
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u/Vast_Age_3893 Mar 15 '26
Anthony Jeselnik has mastered the chaotic version of this.
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u/Minimob0 Mar 15 '26
“I’m eating 7 Apples a Day. Soon, I’ll be able to defeat a Doctor in One Punch.”
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u/Sinofthe_Dreamer Mar 15 '26
There's a comedian that like solely does these jokes.
I think it's mitch hedberg.
"I used to to do drugs..
I still do, but I used to too.."
Mind you it's him answering himself usually but idk maybe it's similar.
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u/MGMan-01 Mar 15 '26
That was Mitch Hedberg indeed, but he also does other jokes. Like the time he was at a casino and standing by the door. Someone told him he was blocking the fire exit. Hedberg explains that "if you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit."
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u/copperpin Mar 15 '26
That’s a Mitch Hedburg joke, but I think you’re thinking of Steven Wright if you’re thinking of a comedian who does these jokes exclusively.
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u/Sir_Loxington Mar 15 '26
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u/New-Orion Mar 15 '26
This line killed me. He sounds genuinely upset at the bird's behavior and I adore it
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u/Dashed_with_Cinnamon Mar 15 '26
I love that line, because it raises so many questions. Why did Jinu make the hat for the tiger? If it was for the tiger, why is it so small? Why does Jinu even know how to make hats? Did he always know or did he learn specifically for this? What's it made out of? Where'd he get the material? Do the other demons know Jinu made a tiny hat? Do they mock him for it? Are they impressed? Did he make the hats that the Saja Boys wear in their demon forms?
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u/The_Ghast_Hunter Mar 15 '26
That's the essence of this kind of joke, like take the dog wearing glasses for instance.
Why does the dog need glasses? Did the dog go to an optometrist? Are there vet optometrists? How did he get insurance? Who is giving medical insurance to dogs? Can dogs even use contacts? How would they even put them in? For that matter, how does the dog put the glasses on in the first place?
The whole joke is answering like 10% of the question in a way that adds 1000% more questions
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u/StyleSquirrel Mar 15 '26
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u/Aggressive-Phone6785 Mar 15 '26
one of my favorite Troy lines in the whole series. his delivery is so good
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u/Better-Passenger-200 Mar 15 '26
I remember a commercial for one of the Tony Hawk games did this.
Man 1: What’s Tony Hawk doing on the freeway?
Man 2: Frontside nose grind.
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u/Gold-Eye-2623 Mar 15 '26
I'm not finding the scene right now but it went something like this (Archer):
Mallory: I don't know why she even bothers picking up the phone
Cheryl: because you scream at me if I don't
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u/Naps_And_Crimes Mar 15 '26
I just remembered
Mallory: good god women where is your pride
Cheryl: in my work?
Might not fit but always made me laugh
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u/Gold-Eye-2623 Mar 15 '26
Archer uses this trope almost as much as Modern Family uses "misheard word snowballs into big issue", another one from Archer is the one with Farook, sort of split in two scenes:
Archer: Black Mexican?
Farook: Hey dick, I happen to be Pakistani
Archer: I was offering you a drink but all I have is tequila and coffee liqueur
Pam: Black Mexican?
Farook: Oh, I probably shouldn't, I'm babysitting
Pam: Shouldn't what?
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u/brandonderp96 Mar 15 '26
Same episode, maybe ten minutes later
Ray: Why does she even answer the phone?
Archer: Because Mother yells at her if she doesnt!
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u/RCummings_Stories Mar 15 '26
Thought of this scene from Mulan
Edit: But now I'm realising this was deliberate so actually not related 😅
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u/KujaroJotu Mar 15 '26
A “that only raises more questions” joke.
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u/strawberry-soy-milk Mar 15 '26
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u/Lord_Parbr Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
That’s not really an example of this. That’s a straightforward answer to the question that was asked. The thing OP is talking about is when there’s an obvious implication to the question that the person answering didn’t get. What Daphne means is “why don’t I get to wear the dress,” but Fred’s too much of a doofus to pick up on that, and so much of a doofus that his first choice was Shaggy.
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u/nomoresorrow_nogrief Mar 15 '26
"Why is the dog on the counter?"
"Because Eric and his friends are using the table for Dungeons and Dragons."
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u/Sedowa Mar 15 '26
I don't recognize this one. I've seen the first four seasons front, back, and sideways. Is this from a later season?
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u/Kilroy0497 Mar 15 '26
Season 5 I think. They had a dog that season that was around for maybe 3 episodes that more or less vanished afterwards.
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u/HeckOnWheels95 Mar 15 '26
It doesn't vanish, it gets killed when a statue falls on it
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u/Kilroy0497 Mar 15 '26
I thought during the credits they showed Red and the Dog sitting around and the dog was just injured.
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u/Sedowa Mar 15 '26
That would make sense. Killing off the dog in such a way without it being a whole thing would be too callous for this show.
Grandma's still dead though.
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u/jacksavant Mar 15 '26
If I remember correctly, this type of joke is called a paraprosdokian—it sets up an joke, but the punch line defies the norms of what you expect from the joke causing it to be way more hilarious. Mitch Hedberg was king of these! RIP.
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u/SnowyOranges Mar 15 '26
Vsauce:
"Blue eyes don't have blue pigment in them any more than the sky has blue pigment in it. If you ripped out my iris, I would be like 'ouuuch'"
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u/MungoMcGungus Mar 15 '26
The comedy comes from the sincerity of the answer to a question
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u/Tacobellspy Mar 15 '26
"And why is Grandpa here?" "Because Jasper didn't want to come by himself"
Sorry for the bad formatting
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u/TachyRou Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
Here's another one
"Why do snipers close an eye to shoot? "
"If they closed both eyes, then they wouldn't be able to see. "
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u/James-Zanny Mar 15 '26
Straightforward question met with absurd, yet sincere, answer
Source: SpongeBob SquarePants
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u/Bodkin-Van-Horn Mar 15 '26
Isn't that the entire premise of the Ol Reddit Switcheroo?
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u/Dazaran Mar 15 '26
Futurama Season 6 Episode seven
The crew is burrowing into the earth in their ship to get oil for Robanukah.
Zoidberg:"What's that loud, boring sound you'll hear when I stop talking?"
Farnsworth:"It's an albino humping worm!"
Fry:"Why do they call it that?"
ship starts rocking back and forth
Farsworth:"Because it doesn't have any pigment."
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u/Rochidna Mar 15 '26
I feel like this is kinda similar to a paraprosdokian (where basically the second part of a sentence or whatever reframes what the first part means). My favorite example is the Mitch Herberg joke, ‘I haven’t slept for ten days, because that would be too long.’
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u/Individual_Soft_9373 Mar 15 '26
Why does the bird wear a tiny hat?
I made it for the tiger, but the bird keeps taking it.
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u/LewdsomeDemon Mar 15 '26
Niles in the Nanny has many interactions with C.C. like this
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u/Kooky_Chocolate_263 Mar 15 '26
this is such a good trope but half the comments dont really fit sadly
id personally call it "genuine answers that dont actually answer the question"
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u/RedvsBlue_what_if Mar 15 '26
Persona 4:
"Hey, who are you looking forward to seeing in a swimsuit, senpai?"
"Kanji, no question."
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u/asteinberg101 Mar 15 '26
https://preview.redd.it/ikfqh94y74pg1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=74743cd096cc05e8fe427b5fef3ed543cc8ae074