Funny dad jokes are a type of wholesome humor that are typically associated with fathers and father figures. They often rely on puns and other forms of word play. They can also be cheesy and corny, but these elements add to their charm. Many people consider them funnier than regular jokes, despite the groans and eye-rolls they sometimes provoke.
It may be tempting to dismiss dad jokes as bad or unfunny, but this would be a mistake. When they are considered properly, these jokes reveal a lot about not only the nature of humour and joke-telling, but also about fathers’ psychology and their relationships with their children.
Normally, when someone shifts to the humorous mode of discourse (often signalled by a change in tone or the use of discursive markers), they do so because they have something genuinely funny to say. A dad joke, however, violates this norm by following up the shift with a lame or unfunny pun. This is paradoxically what makes them funny, as they are so obviously nonsense that they elicit an ironic laugh from the listener.
In addition to their function as puns and cheesy riddles, dad jokes can also be seen as a form of weaponised anti-humour. By teasingly embarrassing their kids in this manner, fathers can build up their children’s resilience by teaching them to withstand minor attacks on their egos and emotions without becoming overwrought or acting out. This is a less domineering and more joking style of parenting that has become a hallmark of modern fatherhood (Hye-Knudsen, 2021). funny dad jokes