英米笑話秀逸Excellent English and American Jokes

What you'll learn

The narrator opens by saying that English-speaking people love jokes and use them to enliven dinner conversation. He credits Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock for recommending the next joke, and apologizes that, having been evacuated without reference books, he can only reproduce it from memory.

On a sleeper train, a passenger who plans to get off at Buffalo instructs the porter to throw him onto the platform if he doesn't wake. When he wakes after the train has passed Buffalo and complains, the porter says someone was already thrown off there.

Mr. Simpson, a pathologically helpful man, sees a loose wool thread on a girl's collar at the theater. He tugs at it until a whole ball of yarn forms in his hands, panics, and runs out. The girl later tells her sister she lost her vest.

Key vocabulary

Grammar points you'll meet

• 〜てしまう N4Expresses an action that is completed, often with a sense of regret, surprise, or unintended consequence.
  私、昨晩お芝居へ行って、チョッキをなくしてしまったわ
• 〜たら N4Conditional 'when/if'; describes what happens after a certain condition is met.
  翌朝、旅客が目を覚ましたら、もう日は高く、バッファローはとうに通り越していた。
• 〜てみる N4To try doing something.
  「そんなものを一枚、君達は一体何に使うんですか？」と訊いて見た。
• 〜んです N5Explanatory sentence-ending; gives a reason or explanation.
  窓のところは外から見えますから、広告のために大きいのを出すんです。
• 〜ように (state/purpose) N3Expresses 'so that...' or a desired state; here: 'I want it to be so that...'.
  説教壇でピンを落とした音が座席の隅々まで聞こえるようにありたい。
• 〜始める N3To begin/start doing an action.
  牧師さんは書記に命じて、聖書を読み始めた。

Cultural notes

• Stephen Leacock and Canadian HumorThe author cites Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock as a connoisseur of American jokes. Leacock (1869–1944) was a famous English-Canadian writer and economist known for his light, gentle comic essays.
• Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and the Sleeping CarIn the early 20th century, taking a sleeper train to Niagara Falls was a common tourist trip. Buffalo was the gateway city. The joke plays on the passenger's fear of oversleeping and the porter's literal obedience.
• Cockney h-droppingThe joke about the Londoner relies on the Cockney feature of dropping initial h sounds, so 'ham' is heard as 'am'. The father's correction is comically absorbed into the household's own pronunciation.
• George Washington and the Cherry Tree MythIn American folklore, young George Washington famously 'could not tell a lie' about cutting down a cherry tree. The joke reduces him to 'an American who didn't lie', which is technically a minimal answer from a schoolchild.

Try a comprehension question

Read a sample in Japanese

Topics & grammar

Short Storycomedyhumormisunderstandinghumorousaozora bunko〜んですn desu〜かもしれないkamo shirenai〜ながらnagara〜させるsaseru〜たらtara〜てくれるte kureruてみるte miru〜てしまうte shimauようにyou ni