please don't laugh

...I'm sorry. That really was the best title I could come up with. And I hate puns.

No, I'm not saying 'goodbye,' don't worry! Just goodbye to the Heisei era.

But what is a pun? In my dictionary, it is:

The worst kind of joke.

But how to explain them to a Japanese person? The closest I have found is 'oyaji gyagu.' The kind of joke that some people love, and some people hate. The kind of joke that makes everyone hear it say 'uuuuuuuuughhhh.'

Even more interesting to me, though, is how Japanese and English have basically the same name for that kind of joke. 'Oyaji gyagu' -- old person's gag or joke, is also known as a 'dad joke' in English. As in, the kind of joke your dad, and only your dad, ever thought was funny. The most 'classic' dad joke:

"Dad, I'm hungry..."
"Hi Hungry, I'm Dad!"

Don't get me wrong. I am not writing in support of puns or dad jokes. But even I am not above making a terrible pun on occasion.

I'm sorry.

Have a great Golden Week, and an awesome Reiwa!

--Josh