Jokes & Facts

Terrible Dad Jokes

Tap for a terrible dad joke, the kind where the answer is a stick and the silence is part of the act.

Ba dum tss

Why don't eggs tell jokes? They'd crack each other up.

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Terrible dad jokes are bad in a few specific ways: the literal answer (a stick), the missing letter (a fsh), the pun stretched past its limit and the punchline that explains nothing. This set gathers those shapes together, so the badness is on purpose.

Because the joke is meant to be bad, the best response is a long pause. Tell it, wait, and let the room fill the gap. If someone says "that was terrible", you have the review you were aiming for. Save the weakest one for last, since a worse joke after a bad one gets a bigger groan.

These also work as a game. Tap Generate, read the setup, and ask the table to rate the badness from one to ten before you give the answer. Keep a running tally through the evening and let whoever gave the lowest score pick the next tap.

Terrible Dad Jokes FAQ

What turns a dad joke from funny into terrible?

A terrible one skips the clever part. The answer is literal, the pun is forced, or the joke ends where a normal one would start. The humor comes from the letdown.

Are bad dad jokes the same as terrible ones?

They overlap. A bad joke can be weak by accident, while a terrible one is weak on purpose, such as the anti-joke about a deer with no eyes.

Which terrible joke should I save for last?

The hippo and Zippo line or the sheep with no legs, since the long pause after them is part of the joke.

What if nobody groans?

Wait three more seconds, then say "I'll tell it again slower." The second telling usually gets the reaction the first one missed.