Fun with Q&A homonyms
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The most famous example, of course, is the 1945 "Who's on first?" dialogue:
Wikipedia traces versions of the same idea back to 1930 and before, and lists many later derivatives, including a clever rock-band echo in a em>Pearls Before Swine comic from 10/19/2014:
My affinity for such wordplay is enhanced by the fact that I live in Ware College House, although unfortunately donors named Wye, Watt, Howe, Hu, and so on have not yet had UPenn residences named after them.
I'm not aware of any similar sketches in other languages, though it should be possible despite some morpho-syntactic impediments — perhaps readers will enlighten us.
Robin said,
September 18, 2025 @ 11:12 am
In French a classic is the Raymond Devos sketch Caen (1956): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvrezr97_Bs. Let me know if you need any subtext
Benjamin E. Orsatti said,
September 18, 2025 @ 11:27 am
"Qui est Raymond Devos?"
"Mais non, 'Key' est le chanteur pour le groupe 'Yellowcard'.
Y said,
September 18, 2025 @ 12:39 pm
Young Frankenstein: "Werewolf?" "There wolf!"
"Where" and "Weir" is a stretch.
Tom Dawkes said,
September 18, 2025 @ 1:29 pm
This brings to mind a quip from one of my teachers (bear in mind, this was in the 1950s).
"How high is a Chinaman?" could be understood as "Hao Hai is a Chinaman"
Seonachan said,
September 18, 2025 @ 2:06 pm
The first episode of Police Squad! (precursor to the Naked Gun movies) had a scene devoted to this kind of wordplay, involving the shooting of an ex-tire company employee named Twice:
Sally Decker: I shot Twice after Jim fell.
Det. Frank Drebin: You shot twice and Jim Fell?
Sally Decker: No, Jim fell first and then I shot Twice once.
Det. Frank Drebin: Well, who fired twice?
Sally Decker: Once!
Capt. Ed Hocken: He's the owner of the tire company, Frank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=het1kl-A8qw
Andrew McCarthy said,
September 18, 2025 @ 6:36 pm
Even medieval Italy had the potential for gags like this. At Modena Cathedral, the 12th-century doorway known as the Porta della Pescheria features a carving of King Arthur and his knights. Among the knights featured on the carving is Arthur's brother Sir Kay, whose name is spelled "Che" – which in modern Italian spelling would make him "Sir What."
Roscoe said,
September 18, 2025 @ 7:59 pm
“Histeria!” did a Chinese-history-themed variation:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AaOgCMs3vtE
Yuval said,
September 19, 2025 @ 4:04 am
The PBS comic can be antedated with respect to the '60s band by at least 17 years.
Jerry Packard said,
September 19, 2025 @ 7:08 am
There is simply no comparison with Abbot and Costello’s original bit (although it predates them considerably in vaudeville), in their absolutely perfect timing and presentation.
Robert Coren said,
September 19, 2025 @ 9:39 am
There was recently – and may still be – a Major League baseball player named Hu. Announcers tried (mostly successfully) to avoid making the obvious joke when he reached first base.
Andrew McCarthy's mention of "Sir che" reminds me that one of my household's large collection of stuffed animals is a small green dragon named Hercules, but because he was first presented in France he is sometimes called by the French version of the name, Hercule (as in Poirot). A few years ago I realized that, give or take an aspiration, this is a pretty close homophone to German "Herr Kuehl", and so I sometimes call him "Mr. Cool". (Note: I would normally provide the umlaut, but my computer is being recalcitrant about copying/pasting "special" characters.)
Edith said,
September 19, 2025 @ 10:21 am
Coffee and Rice homage in the Bush era:
Hu's the leader of China?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0tY3dWX3v4
Peter Grubtal said,
September 19, 2025 @ 10:22 am
has the legendary Bush/Hu skit been forgotten?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HIFKlcQxo
Matthew J. McIrvin said,
September 19, 2025 @ 12:39 pm
Kids in the Hall did a sketch in which a comedy duo (Kevin McDonald and Dave Foley) tries to do "Who's On First" but the second banana keeps stopping and explaining the misunderstanding.
David Morris said,
September 19, 2025 @ 3:43 pm
At one stage (20 years ago?) China had Mr Hu and Mr Wen.
Joshua K. said,
September 19, 2025 @ 8:19 pm
English-speakers who learn Hebrew are sometimes amused by the fact that the Hebrew word pronounced /mi:/ means "who" in English, the word pronounced /hu:/ means "he", and the word pronounced /hi:/ means "she".
Ed Rorie said,
September 20, 2025 @ 11:00 am
This Johnny Carson skit is a nice tribute to A&C.
https://youtu.be/z8D4C3hR8PY?si=fZy6Zmw2uGUm1j6Q
Viseguy said,
September 20, 2025 @ 4:26 pm
Me and Yu
Derwin McGeary said,
September 22, 2025 @ 7:13 am
In Russian, with the forename "Avas" which sounds like "and yours?" In Russian. "What's your name?" "And yours?"… repeat until funny.
https://youtu.be/mHgyipEgepg?si=HWbNAqndleA8sh3B
ajay said,
September 23, 2025 @ 8:26 am
There are various town names in the Midlands that work well too:
"Is this bus going to Slepe?"
"Is this bus for Sale?"
And of course "is this van going to Speke?" to which the answer is "nah, it's one of those inarticulate lorries".
Chas Belov said,
September 24, 2025 @ 12:13 am
I recall in the early 70s there was a sketch by the Conception Corporation where they parodied the Abbott & Costello sketch with bands Who, Guess Who, and Yes.