Bogeman Joke Book and British Culture

hplikelike

I told an English teacher one of the jokes from the joke book, and she got really excited about me starting with "I say I say I say," because apparently that's how many people start a joke and it happens in a play we're about to read.

LeatherJackets

That wouldn't happen to be The Importance of Being Earnest, would it? :rolleyes:

Scotty

Was a time-honoured way of starting a joke sequence between a pair of music-hall comedians back in the distant past.

As in:

I say, I say, I say, my dog has no nose.

How does he smell?

Terrible.

hplikelike

LeatherJackets wrote: »

That wouldn't happen to be The Importance of Being Earnest, would it? :rolleyes:

I think it is. She mentioned that.

hansschmucker

Just out of curiosity, having never read the play, why do you think of The Importance of Being Earnest when somebody mentions "I say, I say, ...."? Couldn't find it in the play at all

LeatherJackets

Because 'I say, I say, I say...' is an awful contrived piece of old British culture and The Importance of Being Earnest was just awful and contrived.