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Bawdy joke

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A humorous remark or anecdote that uses sexual or indecent subject matter for comic effect

Detailed Definition
A bawdy joke is a humorous remark or anecdote that contains sexual innuendo, crude imagery, or risqué wordplay, often relying on double meanings to amuse. Common in dramatic works like Shakespeare’s plays and medieval fabliaux, such jokes aim to entertain while playfully subverting polite norms. They can challenge societal taboos and create a sense of camaraderie through shared, often provocative, humor.
Example
Example in poetry:
A pun about a friar who "keeps his staff well polished" (sexual innuendo); Shakespeare’s “country matters” in Hamlet with sly double entendre; A limerick ending with “under the bed, quite misled, mistook her leg for another”; Chaucer’s Miller’s Tale where the kiss on the rear becomes a bawdy trick
Additional Notes
Humor rooted in sexual innuendo or suggestive wordplay; often used in Elizabethan drama and medieval fabliaux; effective when double meanings are clear to the audience but layered for subtlety.
Also Known As
Lewd jest Risqué quip Naughty innuendo Suggestive repartee Fescennine jest
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