Top 15 jokes of the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe

Why makes this Joke funny?

1. "I was going to sail..."
The joke plays on the double meaning of "bottled it," which means to lose courage, and "bottled" referring to something being placed in a bottle, hinting at the idea of a "ship in a bottle."

2. "I`ve been taking salsa..."
The humor lies in the literal interpretation of the phrase "one step forward, two steps back," which is often used metaphorically to describe lack of progress. In salsa dancing, this is a common dance move.

3. "Ate horse at a restaurant..."
The joke uses a pun on "mane," which refers to the long hair on a horse’s neck, but here it is humorously mistaken for "main" (course of a meal).

4. "I sailed through my..."
"Sailed through" typically means to do something easily, but the joke twists it by implying the person was literally sailing, not driving, leading to a failed driving test.

5. "I love the Olympics..."
The joke is a play on words. "Ran with it" is a common phrase meaning to take an idea and develop it further, but in the context of a relay race, it`s a pun on actually running with the baton.

6. "My dad used to..."
The joke is a pun on the word "volumes." Pints, gallons, and liters are measures of volume, and the phrase "speaks volumes" means to convey a lot of information.

7. "British etiquette is confusing..."
The humor contrasts societal norms. It`s considered cultured ("highbrow") to appreciate nudity in art but inappropriate ("lowbrow") in casual settings like a pub (Wetherspoons, often called Spoons).

8. "I wanted to know which..."
The joke is a clever take on the age-old philosophical question of which came first, the chicken or the egg. The punchline "cracked it" is a pun, referring both to solving the riddle and literally cracking an egg.

9. "My partner told me..."
The humor is in the reference to the term "gaslighting," which means manipulating someone into doubting their own memories. The joke implies the speaker is gaslighting their partner about the movie, making it darkly humorous.

10. "The conspiracy theory about..."
This joke combines a silly conspiracy theory (the moon is made of cheese) with a play on the word "Illuminati," a famous conspiracy group, replacing it with "hallouminati," a pun on halloumi cheese.

11. "I’m an extremely emotionally..."
The joke humorously merges the concept of personal pronouns with the comforting phrase "there, there," often used to console someone, implying the speaker is very emotionally needy.

12. "I`ve got a girlfriend..."
The joke plays on the double meaning of "whining" (complaining) and "wine" (the alcoholic drink). The pun lies in the homophones "whining" and "wining,".