knock-knock joke
1 synonym for knock-knock joke, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A joke told as a short scripted exchange that begins "Knock, knock" — "Who's there?" — and ends in a pun on the name the teller gives.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
knock-knock
How to use knock-knock joke
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
tell a knock-knock joke
a terrible knock-knock joke
Neutral; strongly associated with children's humour.
Etymology
Named after its opening line, imitating the sound of knocking at a door.
Full origin of knock-knock joke →Frequently asked questions
How does a knock-knock joke work?
It runs to a fixed four-line pattern. The teller says "Knock, knock"; the listener replies "Who's there?"; the teller gives a name; the listener repeats it followed by "who?"; and the teller delivers a punchline that puns on that name, as in "Lettuce" — "Lettuce who?" — "Lettuce in, it's cold out here."
Why are knock-knock jokes so popular with children?
They teach the mechanics of joke-telling in a safe way. The listener's lines are fixed, so a child cannot lose control of the exchange, and the punchline is always a simple sound-alike pun that young children are just becoming able to appreciate.
