An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman
Encyclopedia
"An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman" is the opening line of a category of joke
popular in Ireland
and the United Kingdom
. The nationalities
involved may vary, though they are most usually restricted to those within the UK and Ireland, and the number of people involved is usually three or sometimes four. In Ireland, the characters are sometimes called "Paddy Irishman (or a Corkman), Paddy Englishman, and Paddy Scotsman". The punchline is usually based around the Irishman's stupidity, the Scotsman's meanness (or frugality) or the Englishman's snobbishness. Sometimes, when the joke requires four people, a Welshman is brought into the joke.
The "3 nationalities" joke format is also very common in other countries. In these cases, the two foreigners are always portrayed as cocky, stupid and naïve, while the same nationality person is smart, practical and, ultimately, victorious.
, playing up to the stereotype
of that nationality. Generally speaking in Ireland the Englishman or the Scotsman is the butt of the joke, although in the neighbouring island of Great Britain the Irishman is usually portrayed as the butt of the joke.
In the Netherlands, the Belgian is portrayed as being stupid. If the joke is about being rude or anti social, the Belgian is replaced by a German. In Belgium, however, the Dutch are portrayed as cheapskates (though Germans are still portrayed as rude). Telling jokes about each other is often humorously considered a 'national sport' in both Belgium and Holland. This goes as far as having some jokes that are exactly the same in both countries, except for the subject of the joke (Belgian/Dutchman, depending on the nationality of the narrator). The French also format such jokes with a Belgian as the butt.
In China, Americans are usually portrayed as greedy or technologically superior, while the French are usually portrayed as romantic or womanizing. The Chinese is commonly portrayed as rude or alcohol-loving for comedic effect.
These jokes are sometimes made examples of meta-
or sheerly absurd humour, in these examples playing with the bar joke
:
In Brazil, this kind of jokes will often involve Argentinians, regarded as arrogant by Brazilians, or Portuguese, who are portrayed as dumb and with a comic accent. However, Brazilian jokes often portray the Brazilian himself as the butt of the joke, based in the malandro
stereotype, as in the example below:
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
popular in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The nationalities
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
involved may vary, though they are most usually restricted to those within the UK and Ireland, and the number of people involved is usually three or sometimes four. In Ireland, the characters are sometimes called "Paddy Irishman (or a Corkman), Paddy Englishman, and Paddy Scotsman". The punchline is usually based around the Irishman's stupidity, the Scotsman's meanness (or frugality) or the Englishman's snobbishness. Sometimes, when the joke requires four people, a Welshman is brought into the joke.
The "3 nationalities" joke format is also very common in other countries. In these cases, the two foreigners are always portrayed as cocky, stupid and naïve, while the same nationality person is smart, practical and, ultimately, victorious.
- Such jokes in Canada usually substitute the supposedly stupid Irishman with NewfieNewfieNewfie is a colloquial term used in Canada for someone who is from Newfoundland. It appears in a 1942 dictionary of slang; at the time, 'Newfie' was used as often to refer to Newfoundland itself as to people from Newfoundland .The term 'Newfie' has been applied to the Newfoundland people, the...
(pejorative term for someone who is from Newfoundland). - In The Netherlands the joke is usually presented as "A Dutchman, a German and a Belgian...",
- in TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
as "An Englishman, a Frenchman, and Temel (a fictional character from Black Sea Region of Turkey)...", - in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as "A Frenchman, a Belgian and a Quebecois", - in EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
as "A Frenchman, a Belgian and a Sa'idi", - in SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
as "An Englishman, a Frenchman and a Spaniard", - in GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
as "a German, an Italian and a Greek...", - in BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(usually) as "a Brazilian, a Portuguese and an American..." - in PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
as "A Pole, a German and a Russian...", - in Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
as "A Czech, a German and a Russian...", - in RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
as "A Russian, an American and a German (or a Frenchman, or an Englishman, or a Polish)..." - in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as "An Italian, a German and a Frenchman (or an Englishman)...", alternatively as "A Neapolitan, a Frenchman and an Englishman..." - in ScandinaviaScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
as "A Swede, a Dane and a Norwegian", - in ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
as "An American, a Frenchman and a Chinese". - in EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
as "An Estonian, a German and a Russian" - in FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
as "A Finn, a Swede and a Norwegian" (where the Swede is usually made fun of). - The BangladeshiBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
joke involves "an American, a Russian and a Bangladeshi", where the joke is at the misfortune of the Bangladeshi, or his socioeconomic condition; the Russian is portrayed a drunkard and the American usually rich. - in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as "An American, a Chinese(or Russian) and an Indian"
Form
The joke begins "An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman..." (or whichever nationality is relevant to that particular variation) and then places the three characters in a scenario. How each person in the joke reacts to the scenario is then explained, the final reaction being the punch linePunch line
A punch line is the final part of a joke, comedy sketch, or profound statement, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be funny or to provoke laughter or thought from listeners...
, playing up to the stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
of that nationality. Generally speaking in Ireland the Englishman or the Scotsman is the butt of the joke, although in the neighbouring island of Great Britain the Irishman is usually portrayed as the butt of the joke.
In the Netherlands, the Belgian is portrayed as being stupid. If the joke is about being rude or anti social, the Belgian is replaced by a German. In Belgium, however, the Dutch are portrayed as cheapskates (though Germans are still portrayed as rude). Telling jokes about each other is often humorously considered a 'national sport' in both Belgium and Holland. This goes as far as having some jokes that are exactly the same in both countries, except for the subject of the joke (Belgian/Dutchman, depending on the nationality of the narrator). The French also format such jokes with a Belgian as the butt.
In China, Americans are usually portrayed as greedy or technologically superior, while the French are usually portrayed as romantic or womanizing. The Chinese is commonly portrayed as rude or alcohol-loving for comedic effect.
Examples
- A Scotsman, an Englishman and an Irishman find a wizard on the top of a tall cliff. The wizard orders them to jump off the cliff, but he also promises that if they say anything while falling, they will get it at the bottom of the cliff. So first, the Englishman jumps off the cliff and shouts, "Pillows!" and so he lands on some pillows. Then the Scotsman jumps off the cliff, and he shouts, "Hay!" and so he lands on some hay. Finally the Irishman runs to jump off the cliff, but he trips on a rock just before the jump and says, "Aw, crap!"
- A Scotsman, an Englishman and an Irishman were discussing the infidelity of their wives. "I think my wife is having an affair with an electrician", said the Englishman, "because I found an electrician's toolbox under her bed last night." "I think my wife is having an affair with a plumber", said the Scotsman, "because last night I found a plunger under her bed". "I think my wife is having an affair with a horse", said the Irishman, "because last night I found a jockey under her bed."
- An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman are sitting in a bar. Suddenly, a fly dives into each of their beers. The Englishman says, "Barman, a fly just dived into my beer. Bring me another one." The Englishman got another beer. The Irishman says, "Ah, to hell with it," and empties his pint, fly and all. The Scotsman pulls the fly out of his beer, shakes it up and down, and screams, "Spit it oot, damn you! Spit it oot!" (This time playing on the stereotypical Scottish thriftiness and drunkenness.)
These jokes are sometimes made examples of meta-
Meta-joke
Meta-joke refers to several somewhat different, but related categories: self-referential jokes, jokes about jokes , and joke templates.-Self-referential jokes:...
or sheerly absurd humour, in these examples playing with the bar joke
Bar joke
A bar joke is a very common and basic type of joke. The basic syntax of this type of joke is "A man walks into a bar and ". The initial perception of the joke is that a man is walking into a bar to have a drink, but this only lasts a few seconds as the punchline is quickly uttered. This joke has...
:
- Paddy Englishman, Paddy Irishman and Paddy Scotsman walk into a bar. The barman turns around and says: "What is this, some kind of joke?"
- Paddy Englishman, Paddy Scotsman and a Rabbi walk into a bar. The Rabbi stops and says "I think I'm in the wrong joke".
In Brazil, this kind of jokes will often involve Argentinians, regarded as arrogant by Brazilians, or Portuguese, who are portrayed as dumb and with a comic accent. However, Brazilian jokes often portray the Brazilian himself as the butt of the joke, based in the malandro
Malandragem
Malandragem is a Brazilian Portuguese term for a lifestyle of idleness, fast living and petty crime - traditionally celebrated in samba lyrics, especially those of Noel Rosa. The exponent of this lifestyle, the malandro , or "bad boy" , has become significant to Brazilian national identity as a...
stereotype, as in the example below:
A Frenchman, an American and a Brazilian were traveling in an airplane.
The Frenchman put his hand out the plane window and said: "We are flying over Paris. I know it because I have just touched the Eiffel TowerEiffel TowerThe Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
!"
After some time, the U.S. guy put his hand out and said: "We are flying over the United States. I know it because I have just touched the Statue of LibertyStatue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
."
Finally, the Brazilian put his hand out and said:
"We are in Brazil! We are flying over Brazil!"
The American and the Frenchman asked:
"How did you know?"
"It's easy, I just put my hand out and someone stole my watch!"