What are meta-jokes?

A meta-joke is a joke that talks about jokes, like a joke giving itself a funny little wink.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy, and suddenly it starts telling a joke about being a toy. That’s kind of what a meta-joke does, it's a joke that's aware it's a joke, and maybe even makes fun of itself or how jokes work.

A regular joke is like when your friend says something funny to make you laugh. But a meta-joke is more like when your friend says something funny about telling jokes, like they say, “I just told you a joke… and that was the joke.” It’s like when a book talks about being a book, or a movie mentions movies inside itself.

Here's an easy meta-joke:

“I told you a joke. That was the joke.”

It’s short, but it plays with how jokes work, it's not just funny, it is a joke about jokes! A meta-joke is a joke that talks about jokes, like a joke giving itself a funny little wink.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy, and suddenly it starts telling a joke about being a toy. That’s kind of what a meta-joke does, it's a joke that's aware it's a joke, and maybe even makes fun of itself or how jokes work.

A regular joke is like when your friend says something funny to make you laugh. But a meta-joke is more like when your friend says something funny about telling jokes, like they say, “I just told you a joke… and that was the joke.” It’s like when a book talks about being a book, or a movie mentions movies inside itself.

Here's an easy meta-joke:

“I told you a joke. That was the joke.”

It’s short, but it plays with how jokes work, it's not just funny, it is a joke about jokes!