You think puns in *one* language are bad...
November 13, 2008 1:24 AM Subscribe
Bahasa Indonesia speakers! My late, beloved grandmother was an expert in dreadful multi-lingual puns. Help me remember a silly joke she used to tell about roosters.
This joke can only be told well by someone who speaks heavily accented English, and you need to know a little Indonesian to laugh at the punchline.
Here is what I remember of the joke:
One evening, a woman is hurrying along the street, carrying her shopping. A man is running towards her, not looking where he's going. He crashes into the woman and knocks all her groceries into the gutter.
"Oh!" says the man. "I am sorry, I am sorry!"
The woman looks afronted. "Ayam sore? AYAM SORE?!"
[English translation: A chicken in the evening? A CHICKEN in the EVENING?!]
The woman then yells something at the man which translates in English to: "A rooster in the morning!"
What is this punchline in Bahasa? And where is the pun, slang or implied insult which I remember made the joke so funny? It could easily have been something a bit risque - her English jokes were fairly ribald!
I'll probably never tell this joke as well as she did, but I will send an enormous plate of love and virtual tempeh goreng to anyone who can help me remember how it went.
This joke can only be told well by someone who speaks heavily accented English, and you need to know a little Indonesian to laugh at the punchline.
Here is what I remember of the joke:
One evening, a woman is hurrying along the street, carrying her shopping. A man is running towards her, not looking where he's going. He crashes into the woman and knocks all her groceries into the gutter.
"Oh!" says the man. "I am sorry, I am sorry!"
The woman looks afronted. "Ayam sore? AYAM SORE?!"
[English translation: A chicken in the evening? A CHICKEN in the EVENING?!]
The woman then yells something at the man which translates in English to: "A rooster in the morning!"
What is this punchline in Bahasa? And where is the pun, slang or implied insult which I remember made the joke so funny? It could easily have been something a bit risque - her English jokes were fairly ribald!
I'll probably never tell this joke as well as she did, but I will send an enormous plate of love and virtual tempeh goreng to anyone who can help me remember how it went.
Response by poster: Thanks citybuddha, that's a start.
My vague memory is that there was some kind of double meaning to the punchline - some way of phrasing "a chicken in the morning" which also meant something funny or insulting. Like 'cock' in English, I suppose.
posted by [ixia] at 4:09 AM on November 13, 2008
My vague memory is that there was some kind of double meaning to the punchline - some way of phrasing "a chicken in the morning" which also meant something funny or insulting. Like 'cock' in English, I suppose.
posted by [ixia] at 4:09 AM on November 13, 2008
Best answer: If it was a well-known sort of joke it would be one thing, but one that your gramma made up? That's a toughie! If it helps, in BM a rooster is "ayam jantan" or "ayam jaguh". A "bapak ayam" can be a pimp, "ibu ayam" can mean a madam. "Subuh" can also mean dawn or morning. Ayam sore I can't think of a way to make the joke work though.
posted by BinGregory at 10:02 PM on November 13, 2008
posted by BinGregory at 10:02 PM on November 13, 2008
Best answer: Hmm, That would be a pun: "siang" meaning day and "siang" meaning dressed or slaughtered. You plucked chicken, you!
posted by BinGregory at 12:29 AM on November 14, 2008
posted by BinGregory at 12:29 AM on November 14, 2008
Response by poster: Thank you all so much - I think 'ayam siang' might well be it. I don't think my grandmother made the joke up, but a joke heard in the markets of Jakarta circa 1932 is just as tough for a bunch of MeFites to solve! I guess I'll have to wait till my Bahasa improves before I'll know for sure. Thanks, all.
posted by [ixia] at 11:03 PM on January 22, 2009
posted by [ixia] at 11:03 PM on January 22, 2009
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ayam pagi
posted by citybuddha at 3:09 AM on November 13, 2008