I was having lunch with a friend today and he told me about this. He and his wife were getting into their car in a parking lot and his wife started laughing. He asked her why and she just said "Get in the car". After they'd sped off, she explained that without trying to she'd overheard the woman a few cars over talking on her cellphone, but had only made out this one sentence:

"So he told me to say it was just a gentle fart, but I told him that I could never tell a judge that with a straight face."

Now I have to say, I'd love to know the context for this statement!

Now I have to say, I'd love to know the context for this statement!

Reminds me of the time, probably 30 years ago, when National Lampoon magazine held a contest for people to submit punch lines to non-existant jokes.

The winning entry was:

"All right, dammit, you hold the goldfish, and I'll rape the canary."

I've always wondered just what sort of joke could be created to go with that!

tanstaafl.

I was once sitting next to two old Yorkshiremen in a pub, when one said to the other:
"That was the best flagstone he ever laid, and he's still in the phone book under pig breeders"
It must be 25 years that I've been wondering what the context could have been!

Eastenders (A crap BBC soap) seem to have had a long tradition of starting a scene, usually in the pub, with someone telling the punchline to a joke, so you sort of come in mid conversation. I'm sure they used to sit down in script meetings and think up the most unlikely punchline.

Peter Kay has also used that, he'd start a scene with someone saying the punchline: 'I said Ping Pong balls, not King Kongs balls!'.
I'd always assumed there wasn't a joke to go with the punchline, but a quick google proves otherwise.

This thread reminds me of my favorite Lewis Black routine about the same issue: "If it weren't for my horse, I'd never have spent that year in college."

OT, but I used to eat lunch at a sandwich shop across from the main county courthouse here. Very popular lunch hangout for defense attorneys and their clients (too bad they've closed -- the best prime rib sandwich I've ever had!).

So one day, these two well-dressed women come in and get in line behind me and one of them blasts out (exact quote) "If that judge doesn't give me the fucking gun back I'm going to kill him!!"

The restaurant got very quiet. No idea if she got the gun back. Context? I am going to guess...not good.