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Glite Dictionary
knock knock

knock knock

2 4.3
A short joke that starts with 'Knock knock!' and uses a call and answer
  • noun
  • /nɑk nɑk/
  • Informal
translation icon : chiste de 'toca toca'
  • Knock, knock!
  • knock knock joke

It's knowing what you think, exploiting the fact that you have a schema, an understanding of what a knock knock joke is.

Examples

  • Knock, knock!

    Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023)

  • Everyone laughed at the funny knock knock joke I told during the party.

  • My little brother loves to tell knock knock jokes to make his friends laugh.

  • When I hear a knock knock joke, I can't help but smile at the silliness.

Surface Forms

knock knock singular
knock knocks plural

Morphology

knock + knock

The phrase is clearly built from the verb 'knock' (an onomatopoeic/performative utterance signaling knocking), so a learner can guess it relates to the act/sound of knocking. However, the specific conventionalized meaning 'a call-and-response joke format' is a cultural/pragmatic convention that is not directly predictable from the repeated verb alone and typically requires exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Knock knock comes from copying someone knocking at a door. In the game one person says knock knock, the other answers 'Who's there?', and the quick question-and-answer with a surprise reply is why knock knock now means a short question-and-answer joke.