What's a Henway?: Difference between revisions

Also known as a "Pun Trap". The best way to subvert the standard form if someone tries it on you in [[Real Life]] is to ask "What's that?"<ref> Beware the [[Double Subversion]]: "What's what?" "A Henway." "About 2-3 pounds." "D'oh!"</ref> Another subversion is not to ask any question, but say instead: "Define "henway"."

A favourite of the [[Pungeon Master]], and of anyone else who has had a bit too much snoo or updog lately.

{{quote| '''Ichirin''': Dr. Tsukumo!<br />

'''Susumu''': What is it, Ichirin?<br />

* One strip of ''[[wikipedia:Thrud the Barbarian|Thrud the Barbarian]]'' had the central character (recast against type as a Renaissance fop) taking a barstool in ye medieval tavern and saying to the next guy along:

{{quote| '''Thrud''': I say, my fellow - have you done your chores?<br />

'''Next Guy''': Eh? What chores?<br />

* Batman uses the Henway joke in order to defeat a telepathic cyclops, in ''[[Batman Odyssey (Comic Book)|Batman Odyssey]]''.

* ''[[The Lion King (Disney)|The Lion King]]''

{{quote| '''Pumbaa:''' [[Hakuna Matata]] is our motto.<br />

'''Simba:''' What's a motto?<br />

{{quote| '''Timon:''' (holding up an empty coat-hanger) Here, hold this sarong.<br />

'''Pumbaa:''' What sarong?<br />

* In ''[[Rango (Animation)|Rango]]'', the townsfolk explore a cave that one character explains is a dried-up aquifer, which leads to the exchange:

{{quote| "What's an aquifer?"<br />

{{quote| '''Aykroyd:''' It's a dikfer!<br />

'''Chase:''' What's a dikfer?<br />

* There's a [[Running Gag]] like this in ''[[Airplane!]]''.

*** It's a joke that's repeated throughout the film,. but''[[beat]]'' But that's not important right now.

{{quote| '''Witness:''' Striker was the squadron leader. He brought us in real low. But he couldn't handle it.<br />

'''Prosecutor:''' Buddy couldn't handle it. Was Buddy one of your crew?<br />

'''Witness:''' Right. Buddy was the bombardier. But it was Striker who couldn't handle it, and he went to pieces.<br />

'''Prosecutor:''' Andy went to pieces?<br />

'''Witness:''' No. Andy was the navigator. He was all right. ''Buddy'' went to pieces. It was awful how he came unglued.<br />

'''Prosecutor:''' Howie came unglued?<br />

'''Witness:''' Oh, no. Howie was a rock, the best tailgunner in the outfit. ''Buddy'' came unglued.<br />

'''Prosecutor:''' And he bailed out?<br />

'''Witness:''' No. Andy hung tough. ''Buddy'' bailed out. How he survived, it was a miracle.<br />

'''Prosecutor:''' Then Howie survived?<br />

'''Witness:''' No, 'fraid not. We lost Howie the next day.<br />

'''Prosecutor:''' Over Macho Grande?<br />

* From the [[The Marx Brothers]]' movie ''[[Animal Crackers]]''.

{{quote| '''Groucho:''' Well, whaddya say, girls? Are we [three] all gonna get married?<br />

'''Mrs. Whitehead:''' All of us?<br />

'''Groucho:''' All of us!<br />

'''Whitehead:''' But that's bigamy!<br />

** From the same film: when the millionaremillionaire tells Groucho that he's going to Uruguay Groucho responds, "Well, you go Uruguay and I'll go mine."

** In ''[[Cocoanuts]]'', going over a map, Groucho indicates a land tract is near a viaduct. Chico responds, "I don't know, why a duck?" ''Why A Duck?'' is a popular Marx scene, and the phrase was used as the title of the Marx Brothers' film concordance.

{{quote| "How's your head?"<br />

{{quote| '''Kermit:''' Gonzo! What are you doing?<br />

* ''[[Man On Fire (Film)|Man Onon Fire]]'':

{{quote| '''Pita''': "What's your girlfriend's name?"<br />

'''Creasy''': "Nunya."<br />

'''Pita''': "Nunya?"<br />

* In some deleted footage for ''[[Lucky Number Slevin]]'', one of The Fairy's bodyguards makes these repeatedly.

* From the ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' episode "The Cave Dwellers":

{{quote| How much Keefe is in this movie anyway?<br />

* ''[[A Hard DaysDay's Night]].'':

{{quote| '''Norm''': "Ringo, what are you up to?"<br />

* From ''[[Yellow Submarine]]'', as Old Fred and Ringo walk past a room full of displays:

{{quote| '''Old Fred:''' Say, what would your friends be doing here?<br />

'''Ringo:''' Displayin'.<br />

'''Old Fred:''' Displayin' what?<br />

* In the novel ''[[Fallen Angels]]'' by [[Larry Niven]], Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn, an astrophysicist goes to torturous lengths to include the abbreviation SNU (meaning "Solar Neutrino Unit", and pronounced "snew") into a conversation, just so the person he is talking to can ask "What's SNU?" The inevitable response is "Nothing much. What's new with you?"

** The same "joke" was in ''[[Pogo (Comiccomic Stripstrip)|Pogo]]'', with much less setup, starting off, "That's got a lotta snoo to it, boy," and continuing as above.

** Hawkeye set up the same joke in an episode of ''[[M*A*S*H (TVtelevision)|MashM*A*S*H]]'', when while doing minor surgery he asked the nurse for "snoo".

* ''[[Charlie and Thethe Chocolate Factory]]'':

{{quote| They passed a yellow door on which it said: STOREROOM NUMBER 77--ALL THE BEANS, CACAO BEANS, COFFEE BEANS, JELLY BEANS, AND HAS BEANS.<br />

"''Has beans?''" cried Violet Beauregarde. <br />

* In the ''[[Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (Literature)|Callahans Crosstime Saloon]]'' story "Two Heads are Better Than One", Jake regales the bar's patrons with a tall tale of his illustrious ancestor Grandfather Stonebender, who "built the pyramids, freed the slaves, cured yaws!" When Mike Callahan gamely asked, "What's yaws?", Jake answered, "Why thanks, Mike, I'll have a beer."

* In ''[[Good Omens (Literature)|Good Omens]]'', Newt tried to set up a Pun Trap by naming his ([[The Alleged Car|alleged]]) car Dick Turpin, after a highwayman. He always hoped someone would ask him why it was named Dick Turpin, so that he could say "Because everywhere I go, I hold up traffic."

{{quote| '''Rimmer:''' Would you like a wormdo?<br />

'''Lister:''' What's that, then?<br />

'''Rimmer:''' What's ''what''?<br />

'''Lister:''' A wormdo?<br />

'''Rimmer:''' What ''about'' it?<br />

{{quote| '''JD:''' Now I don't want you to worry, because your procedure is being performed by Dr. ''Dahman''.<br />

'''Patient:''' Who's Dr. Dahman?<br />

'''JD:''' No, no...say that again, but without the doctor.<br />

'''Patient:''' Who's Mr. Dahman?<br />

'''JD:''' No no, just say the last name.<br />

'''Patient''': Who's Dahman?<br />

{{quote| '''Doug:''' Stringent what?<br />

'''JD:''' Stringent "updoc". (quickly turns to Turk) It's happening.<br />

'''Doug:''' [[Bugs Bunny|What's updoc?]] }}

{{quote| '''JD:''' I don't use toilet paper. I have one of those French things that shoot water up your butt.<br />

'''Janitor:''' A bidet?<br />

{{quote| '''Jim:''' This place smells like updog.<br />

'''Mike:''' What's updog?<br />

{{quote| '''Michael:''' This place smells like updog.<br />

'''Dwight:''' What's updog?<br />

'''Michael:''' Ha! Ha haha! Um... how are you?<br />

'''Dwight:''' I'm fine, how are you?<br />

{{quote| "You know, microbreweries are the second fastest-growing industry in America, right behind butfores."<br />

"What's a butfore?"<br />

* Running gag in the ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' episode ''"[[First Spaceship Onon Venus]]''", featuring the character Dr. Herringway, commander of the titular expedition.

{{quote| '''Crow:''' Hey, Joel, what's a Herringway?<br />

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has done this a couple of times. In ''"The Time Monster''", we get the following exchange:

{{quote| '''Doctor:''' ''If the thraskin puts his fingers in his ears, it is polite to shout!'' That's an old Venusian proverb.<br />

'''Jo:''' Well, what's a thraskin?<br />

'''Doctor:''' Thraskin? Oh, it's an archaic word, seldom used since the twenty-fifth dynasty. The modern equivalent is "plinge".<br />

'''Jo:''' What does "plinge" mean?<br />

* You can pretty much make a drinking game out of this trope watching ''[[Rowan and MartinsMartin's Laugh -In]]'' and ''[[Hee Haw]]'' (same thing, different demographic; that's actually the only enjoyable way to watch these shows, as even the actors would admit.)

{{quote| '''Murray:''' Look; when you're in a band, you don't get with your bandmate's girlfriend - past or present. ... You get a love triangle, you know? Fleetwood Mac situation. ... Well there- there was four of them, so more of a love square-- but you know; no one gets on. Mind you, they did make some of their best music back then.<br />

'''Bret''' ''(nodding his head)''''':''' "Rumours".<br />

{{quote| '''Bret:''' Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall".<br />

{{quote| '''Murray:''' Who were these people you were dissing? The only one I could make out was Snoopy-- what's your problem with him?<br />

'''Bret''': No, Snoop Dogg.<br />

* UK Comedycomedy ''[[The Fast Show]]'' had character Arthur Atkinson do a whole sequence of these in the mock ''Hee Haw'' sketches parodying old music-hall comedies. The gags always involved corny sound effects like a slidewhistle, pie-in-face gags, or corny wordplay, such as:

{{quote| '''Announcer:''' "This first story involves Arthur Atkinson, and he's not feeling himself."<br />

'''Arthur:''' "And I'm not feeling anyone else neither, before you ask."<br />

* One in Spanish: The Mexican comedian [[Chespirito]] had a character, the old and crotchety ''Doctor Chapatín''. The doctor always carried a paper bag which would never play any part whatsoever in the plot, except to punch whoever dared to say that he was old (this happened [[Once an Episode]]). But once, his nurse and one patient asked him directly about the paper bag and he finally answered: ''"Tengo queles" "¿Queles?" "Qué les importa"'' (that could be roughly translated as ''"It's nunya." "Nunya?" "Nunya business"'').

* The radio and television versions of ''[[The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' have this exchange:

{{quote| '''Arthur:''' "You know, it's at times like this, when I'm trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young."<br />

'''Ford:''' "Why? What'd she tell you?"<br />

* In the ''[[M*A*S*H (TVtelevision)|MashM*A*S*H]]'' episode "Where There's a Will, There's a War", Hawkeye fondly recalls (via flashback) a time when the usually-humorless Margaret Houlihan started rattling off a whole bunch of these with him while taking inventory in the supply hut:

{{quote| '''Hawkeye:''' Sulfa...where's the sulfa?<br />

'''Margaret:''' The sulfa's in the living room.<br />

'''Hawkeye:''' What?<br />

'''Margaret:''' The sulfa's in the living room. Between the end tables.<br />

'''Hawkeye:''' (astonished) Margaret, you told a joke!<br />

'''Margaret:''' I'm tired.<br />

'''Hawkeye:''' "The sulfa's in the living room." (starts laughing) I can't believe you said that!<br />

'''Margaret:''' (laughing now, too) I told you I was tired!<br />

'''Hawkeye:''' No, I love it! Somebody's finally been messing with your funny bone! Okay, sulfa...we got plenty.<br />

'''Margaret:''' Sulfa so good. (starts laughing again) Morphine.<br />

'''Hawkeye:''' No, thanks, I got plenty. (They both crack up, then start to compose themselves.) Digitalis?<br />

{{quote| '''Rachel:''' See? Unisex.<br />

'''Joey:''' Maybe you need sex. I had sex a few days ago.<br />

'''Rachel:''' No, Joey, U-N-I sex.<br />

{{quote| '''Monica:''' Hey Joey, what would you do if you were omnipotent?<br />

'''Joey:''' I'd probably kill myself!<br />

'''Monica:''' Excuse me?<br />

'''Joey:''' Hey, if little Joey's dead, then I got no reason to live.<br />

'''Ross:''' Joey, uh, OMNIpotent.<br />

{{quote| '''Ross''': What's a 'cundis'?<br />

{{quote| '''Buffy:''' I'm like the boy in that story, the one who stuck his finger in the duck.<br />

'''Angel:''' Dike.<br />

'''Buffy:''' ''(confused look)''<br />

'''Angel:''' ''(chuckles)'' It's another word for dam.<br />

{{quote| '''Effy:''' It's inexplicable, Pandora.<br />

'''[[The Ditz|Pandora:]]''' Yeah, inexplicable. ''*beat* '' What does inexplicable mean, Eff?<br />

'''Effy:''' Can't explain.<br />

'''Pandora:''' ''<nowiki>[dismayed]</nowiki>dismayed]'' Alright, suit yourself then. }}

{{quote| '''Fozzie:''' I didn't know you were a talking snowman.<br />

'''Snowman:''' Actually, I'm a snooman.<br />

'''Fozzie:''' What's a snooman?<br />

'''Snowman:''' Nothing. What's a snoo with you?<br />

...<br />

'''Fozzie:''' Ah, Christmas. Time for Santa Claus and his eight prancing reinbear.<br />

'''Snowman:''' That's reindeer.<br />

{{quote| '''Jim''': What does a yellow light mean?<br />

'''Bobby''': Slow down.<br />

'''Jim''': Okay. What...does...a...yellow...light...mean?<br />

'''Bobby''': Slow down.<br />

** In another episode, Latka Gavis leads Louie dePalmadePalma—possibly -- possibly unintentionally -- rightunintentionally—right into one of these:

{{quote| '''Louie:''' What's this?<br />

'''Latka:''' It's a kebble.<br />

'''Louie:''' What's a kebble?<br />

'''Latka:''' 110 kebble make a lithnitch.<br />

'''Louie:''' What's a lithnich?<br />

'''Latka:''' 270 lithnich make a matta.<br />

'''Louie:''' What's a matta?<br />

* On ''[[That's My Bush!]]'', Larry, [[George W. Bush]]'s wacky neighbor, would use one of these almost [[Once an Episode]].

{{quote| '''Larry:''' Say, George, there's a hole dug in your front porch. <br />

* From an episode of ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel -Air]]'', when Will corrects Carlton's usage of the word "dis":

{{quote| '''Will''': That's ''dis''.<br />

{{quote| '''John:''' You have a daughter, I believe?<br />

'''Peter:''' Yeah. Yeah, Henrietta.<br />

* In one episode of ''[[Black AdderBlackadder]]'', Baldrick is running for office and tells his boss he thinks his first name is "Sodoff", because all the other kids used to say "Sod off, Baldrick!" Blackadder notes him down as "S. Baldrick". Later Edmund is interviewed.

{{quote| '''Interviewer''' What does the S stand for?<br />

'''Blackadder''' Sodoff.<br />

* ''[[Corner Gas (TV)|Corner Gas]]'': In "Crab Apple Cooler":

{{quote| '''Lacey:''' We could play euchre.<br />

'''Oscar:''' ''Euchre''? I hardly know 'er!<br />

'''Lacey:''' Or Twister.<br />

'''Oscar:''' ''Twister''? I just met 'er!<br />

'''Lacey:''' Or maybe we could just play charades.<br />

'''Oscar:''' ''Charades''? Ha ha... [[Delayed Reaction|I hate charades]]!<br />

'''Emma:''' Charades it is.<br />

{{quote| '''Dina:''' ...It's something 4 out of 5 doctors recommend.<br />

'''Telly:''' Which doctors?<br />

* A ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' example: in the "Black Magic Police" sketch, when a reporter dramatically asks, "Just what are the police up to?", an especially stupid-looking cop looks up from a book he's reading and answers, "Oh, I'm up to page 39, where [[Peter Pan]] first manifests himself."

{{quote| '''Pepperpot #1:''' Oh, dear. The radio's exploded.<br />

'''Pepperpot #2:''' Well, what's on the television, then?<br />

'''Pepperpot #1:''' Looks like a penguin.<br />

{{quote| '''Det. Frank Drebin:''' Wait a minute, let me get this straight: Twice came in and shot the teller and Jim Fell.<br />

'''Sally Decker:''' No, he only shot the teller, Jim Johnson. Fell is ill.<br />

'''Drebin: '''Okay, then after he shot the teller, you shot Twice.<br />

'''Sally:''' No, I only shot once.<br />

'''Capt. Ed Hocken: '''Twice is the hold up man.<br />

'''Sally: '''Then I guess I did shoot Twice.<br />

'''Drebin: '''Oh, so now you're changing your story.<br />

'''Sally:''' No, I shot Twice after Jim fell.<br />

'''Drebin:''' You shot twice and Jim Fell?<br />

'''Sally:''' No, Jim fell first and then I shot Twice once.<br />

'''Drebin:''' Well, who fired twice?<br />

'''Sally:''' Once!<br />

'''Capt. Hocken:''' He's the owner of the tire company, Frank.<br />

'''Drebin:''' [pauses] Okay. Once is the owner of the tire company and he fired Twice. Then Twice shot the teller once.<br />

'''Sally:''' Twice.<br />

'''Drebin:''' ...and Jim fell and then you fired Twice.<br />

'''Sally: '''Once!<br />

'''Drebin: Okay. '''All right, that will be all for now, Ms. Decker.<br />

'''Capt. Hocken: '''We'll need you to make a formal statement down at the station.<br />

'''Sally:''' Oh, of course!<br />

'''Drebin: '''You've been very helpful. We think we know how he did it.<br />

'''Sally:''' Oh, Howie couldn't have done it. He hasn't been in for weeks.<br />

'''Drebin:''' Well. [pauses] Thank you again, Ms. Decker.<br />

'''Drebin:''' [to Capt. Hocken] Weeks?<br />

{{quote| '''Capt. Hocken:''' Sergeants, take her away and book her.<br />

{{quote| '''Maureen Wentworth:''' (''observing a sculpture'') What a lovely artifact. Is it Mayan?<br />

{{quote| '''Luke:''' Sirius?<br />

* [[Barenaked Ladies]] did this in "Pinch Me":

{{quote| ''I could hide out under there''<br />

{{quote| ''When I make mistakes, I use a lot of salt''<br />

{{quote| '''Paige:''' What's ''Macbeth'' about?<br />

{{quote| '''Jason:''' Man -- this is one cold house.<br />

'''Paige:''' Tell me about it.<br />

{{quote| '''Peter:''' Hey Paige -- if the kitchen's in the house and Diana's in the kitchen, what's in Diana?<br />

'''Paige:''' I dunno. What?<br />

{{quote| '''Paige:''' What's on the TV?<br />

* ''[[Pogo (Comiccomic Stripstrip)|Pogo]]'' also used this regularly, including in the [[Fractured Christmas Carol]] "Good King Sauerkraut"

{{quote| ''Good King Sauerkraut, look out!''<br />

''On his feets uneven''<br />

''Whilst the snoo lay round a bout''<br />

* In the strip ''Adam'', Adam's kids set up a lemonade stand. When someone asked, "Do you serve Arnold Palmer?", they answered, "We serve anyone. What'll ya have?" <ref> Arnold Palmer is a 50/50 blend of lemonade and iced tea, named after the famous golfer.</ref>

* ''[[The Goon Show]]'' makes a similar joke about "hendus".

{{quote| '''Weatherman''': "Gale force hendus are sweeping in from the East. That is the end of the hendu warning."<br />

'''Seagoon''': "Pardon me, but what's a hendu?"<br />

'''Greenslade''': "It LAYS EGGS!"<br />

'''Seagoon''': "And you say they're blowing from the East?"<br />

'''Greenslade''': "Yes."<br />

{{quote| '''John:''' My wife has gone to England.<br />

'''Tim:''' London?<br />

* From the play ''Shiek[[Sheik, Rattle and Roll]]'':

{{quote| "Who's Muhammad?"<br />

"He was a Muslim, I think. Or a Hindu."<br />

"What's a Hindu?"<br />

{{quote| '''Major General''': "When you say "orphan", do you mean a person who's lost his parents, or often-frequently?"<br />

'''Pirate King''': "Oh! I see what you mean. Frequently!"<br />

'''Major General''': "Ah! You said often-frequently!"<br />

'''Pirate King''': [getting irked] "No, only once."<br />

* ''[[Arthur, King of Time and Space]]'' is fond of this one.

* [[The Non -Adventures of Wonderella|Wonderella]]'s tried to do this with "[http://nonadventures.com/2008/05/31/bad-to-the-clone/ dickfor]", but so far either nobody's fallen for it or nobody's had the nerve to question her. (Alternatively, it's just a [[Stealth Pun]] by the author.)

{{quote| '''Milton:''' "Screwed", Jack.<br />

* One ''[[Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]]'' has the "buttfor" variation being played by a priest administering to a criminal on death row.

* In ''[[Ozy and Millie (Webcomic)|Ozy and Millie]]'', Millie spends [http://www.glasswings.com.au/comics/ozyandmillie.au/2001/om20010928.html quite] [http://www.glasswings.com.au/comics/ozyandmillie.au/2001/om20010929.html a] [http://www.glasswings.com.au/comics/ozyandmillie.au/2001/om20011003.html few] strips trying to set up a situation where she asks Ozy "Do you want your palm read?", he says yes, and she gets to paint his palm with the bucket of red paint she's been carrying around. It never quite works out; Ozy figures out what's going on almost immediately but is [[The Stoic|perfectly willing to watch her continue to try]].

* ''[[Xkcd (Webcomic)|Xkcdxkcd]]'': "Supercollider? I 'ardly KNOW 'er!" (from [http://xkcd.com/474/ this alt text])

* The "updog" version was [https://web.archive.org/web/20130321032916/http://coachrandom.zzl.org/Chronological/comic-043.xml used], then [http://coachrandom.zzl.org/Chronological/comic-058.xml subverted]{{Dead link}} on ''[[Coach Random]]''.

* In ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures How I Spent My Vacation (Animation)|Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation]]'', Buster gets caught by three southern belle gators and all of them insist on marrying him. The father obliges, leading to:

{{quote| '''Buster:''' I can't marry all three of them, that's bigamy!<br />

'''Pa Gator:''' No, that's big-a me!<br />

* "Drool, the Dog-faced Goblin," an episode of ''[[The Real Ghostbusters (Animation)|The Real Ghostbusters]]'', contains one: At one point, our heroes are suddenly caught in a hailstorm. The hail then changes, leading to a set-up line that inspires Ray to do his best impression of Chico Marx:

{{quote| '''Egon:''' This isn't hail. This is hominy grits!<br />

* In ''[[South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (Animation)|South Park Bigger Longer and& Uncut]]'', the Mole, a mercenary working for [[La Résistance]], checks off what the boys needed to get for him:

{{quote| '''Mole:''' Did you get ze mirror?<br />

'''Stan:''' Got it.<br />

'''Mole:''' And ze rope?<br />

'''Stan:''' Check.<br />

'''Mole:''' And ze buttfor?<br />

'''Kyle:''' What's a buttfor?<br />

* On ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]] Spinoff Showcase'', they welcomed special guest Tim Conway! Part of the joke here is that Conway's estimate is way off.

{{quote| '''Homer:''' What's a Tim Conway?<br />

{{quote| "I caught my wife in bed with my best friend."<br />

"You bitter?"<br />

** On ''"Four Great Women and a Manicure''":

{{quote| '''Homer:''' Armada? What's armada?<br />

{{quote| '''Bart''': Uh, look, I'll level with you, mister. This is a crank call that sorta back-firedbackfired, and I'd like to bail out right now.<br />

* Herb Penguin does the old-fashioned one to Don in an opening to ''[[BeakmansBeakman's World]]''.

* From ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures (Animation)|Jackie Chan Adventures]]'':

{{quote| '''Ratso:''' What's a Babylonian urn?<br />

* ''[[Arthur (Animationanimation)|Arthur]]'' does the traditional version in one episode, with a race to the ice-cream place: "Last one there is a henway!" And then after arriving:

{{quote| "You're last, Arthur. You're a henway!"<br />

"What's a henway?"<br />

* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animation)|Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Aang is looking for an Earthbending teacher, and hears about an event called Earth Rumble 6. Asking a couple of local losers about it, he gets told it's on the island of "Nunya". What makes them lose is that, aside from Katara beating the answer out of them afterward, one of them jumps the line and [[Don't Explain the Joke|answers the question before it's asked]]: "Nunya business!"

{{quote| '''Officer Flume''': Anyway, go up to the ski lodge and talk to him.<br />

'''Kani''': The Prevaricator?<br />

* In a sing-along host segment of [[The Beatles]] (animation)|the ''Beatles'' cartoon]], Ringo is taking diction lessons:

{{quote| '''Ringo:''' I was practicing the exercise in this book. It teaches you how to pronunciate good like an Englishman should.<br />

'''Paul:''' (''agitated'') The word is "''e''nunciate!" "E!" "E!" "E!!" Don't you know the King's English?<br />

{{quote| '''Officer #1:''' I want you to look in every corner! Search every highway, freeway, henway...<br />

'''Officer #2:''' What's a henway?<br />

{{quote| '''Joker:''' "It smells like updog in here."<br />

'''Batman:''' "What's updog?"<br />

* ''[[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Harry Potter]]'' joke:

{{quote| '''Lupin:''' Harry, I have to tell you something. I'm a werewolf.<br />

'''Harry:''' Are you fucking serious?<br />

{{quote| '''Ron:''' Harry, quick! Dumbledore's been in a horrible accident!<br />

'''Harry:''' Oh my god! Was it serious!?<br />

{{quote| '''Harry:''' Surely you can't be Sirius!<br />

** [[Don't Explain the Joke|For those who don't get it]], "[[Mondegreen|Sirius]]" is the name of another character.

* Scouting has a similar vein of prank to those used in the armed forces. Newly invested Scouts, on camp, are often asked to go and find (or ask for):

** A long weight. (They ask for it, and are told to go stand in the corner for a while until someone can find it for them).

** Dry water; for washing without getting wet.

** Tent-peg holes; because there are too many tent-pegs, so some extra holes are needed to put them in.

** A left-handed mallet. Bonus points for using it and missing the peg, then using it in the right hand, hitting the peg, and declaring it's a right-handed mallet and successfully convincing them to go back for another one.

** Typically, all these are followed up by asking them to get something that's real, but doesn't immediately *sound* real, thanks to the preceding pranks. Like ''Heavy Water''.

{{quote| '''Person A:''' What's a hammerfore?<br />

{{quote| "What's a Grecian urn?"<br />

{{quote| '''Grytpype:''' I thought I saw a Greek urn buried in the sand.<br />

'''Moriarty:''' What's a Greek earn?<br />

'''Grytpype:''' [[Bait and Switch|It's a vase made by Greeks for carrying liquids]].<br />

'''Moriarty:''' I didn't expect that answer.<br />

{{quote| "What's a Grecian urn?"<br />

{{quote| "You know, I went to Moscow once, did some nice sightseeing. There was this river--what was it called...?"<br />

"[[wikipedia:Volga River|Volga]]?"<br />

{{quote| "My wife's gone to the West Indies."<br />

"Jamaica?"<br />

** This one's ascended a bit since the [[Led Zeppelin (Music)|Led Zeppelin]] song, "D'yer Mak'er." North Americans still tend not to get it, because they don't have the right accent, so they usually pronounce it "dire maker".

** Done in a Blues round (in calypso form) by ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (Radio)|I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]'':

{{quote| ''I woke up dis morning, my wife had gone<br />

''To de West Indies for de sun.<br />

''Now you is questioning me: Jamaica?<br />

''[[Bait and Switch|No, Trinidad, with Freddie Laker]]. }}

** [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] used a variant of this as the repeated "fade out" line at the end of "Wanna B Ur Lovr":

{{quote| Girl, you must be Jamaican, because ja makin' me crazy...}}

{{quote| "Jakarta?"<br />

[[I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (Radio)|"No, she went of her own accord!"]]<br />

[[Jeeves and Wooster (TV series)|No, she went by boat!]] }}

{{quote| My wife's gone to Jamaica.<br />

* And still another old joke, used by (among others) [[The Monkees]] in their song "I'm Gonna Buy Me A Dog":

{{quote| "I was playing card games with some African natives."<br />

"Zulus?"<br />

{{quote| I went on vacation to that big city in Switzerland.<br />

Bern?<br />

{{quote| "Back home, I used to play a lot of football."<br />

"Oh, you mean soccer?"<br />

** Variation used in a recent{{when}} slapstick comedy

{{quote| "Up for a game of football?"<br />

"Soccer?"<br />

* From [https://web.archive.org/web/20130528130628/http://bash.org/?270224 Bash]:

{{quote| "Did you hear about that actress who got stabbed? Reese... Reese something."<br />

"Witherspoon?"<br />

{{quote| "In High School, my mom dated that physicist guy..."<br />

"Feynman?"<br />

{{quote| '''Alexander Armstrong:''' What state is Sarah Palin from?<br />

'''Paul Merton:''' Alaska.<br />

'''Alexander Armstrong:''' Yeah, would you?<br />

'''Paul Merton:''' <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Face Palm]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> ...I'm now permanently associated with that joke. }}

{{quote| '''Humphrys:''' I'm not in the first flush of youth, that's absolutely true... and I do have a three-year-old, that's true.<br />

'''Lock:''' What's that like?<br />

{{quote| "Do you like Kipling?<br />

** Person A: Let's play a game!<br />Person B: How about poker?<br />Person A: Poker? I hardly know her!<br />Person B: Facepalm

{{quote| "Nixon was out of the White House one day, making a speech in front of the United Nations. He didn't return until about one in the morning, and wandered into the Oval Office to make a note of something. But as soon as he walks in, he sees his wife sprawled across the desk, completely nude, and right next to her is... what's his name, the Secretary of State."<br />

"Kissinger?"<br />

{{quote| '''Bob:''' Alice, I need you to run to the store and get me a mattababe.<br />

'''Alice:''' What's a mattababe?<br />

{{quote| '''Bob:''' My sister fell down a flight of stairs.<br />

'''Alice:''' Cellar?<br />

** [[Mathematician's Answer|'Course I can]].<ref>[[Don't Explain the Joke|Corsican.]] </ref>

* "Could you pass me that [object]?" "Pass it? I couldn't even swallow it ..."

{{quote| "Is anything worn under there?"<br />

{{quote| '''Person A''': What does idk mean?<br />

'''Person B''': I don't know.<br />

{{quote| '''Person A''': What does stfu mean?<br />

'''Person B''': Shut the fuck up.<br />

** A few unintentional examples of this with idk [https://web.archive.org/web/20130621165324/http://www.parentsshouldnttext.com/?s=idk are catalogued on Parents Shouldn't Text].

{{quote| '''Bob''': He had a certain ''je ne sais quoi''<br />

'''Alice''': What does ''je ne sais quoi'' mean?<br />

'''Bob''': "I don't know what"<br />

{{quote| '''Person A''': What are you eating under there?<br />

{{quote| "D'you know that racing driver, Niki something?"<br />

"Lauda?"<br />

{{quote| '''Redneck:''' So, what school did y'all go to?<br />

'''Yuppie:''' Yale.<br />

{{quote| '''Person A''': What do you catch a salmon with?<br />

'''Person B''': Salmon bait.<br />

'''Person A''': That's right! What do you catch a cod with?<br />

'''Person B''': Cod bait.<br />

'''Person A''': Right? Now, what do you catch an eyemaster with?<br />

'''Person B''': [[A Date Withwith Rosie Palms|...eyemaster bait?]] }}

{{quote| ("The first question was always, 'What's Milton's Opus?'" He'd say, "''[[Paradise Lost]]''," but that usually just raised another question.)}}

[[Category:WhatsWhat&#39;s Aa Henway?]]