Ship of Fools: The Devil and the car

Thread: The Devil and the car Board: The Laugh Judgment / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Simon (# 1) on :

Joke submitted by primordial_soup_dragon and Neil:

A Mother Superior and novice nun were out for a drive one morning. The novice was behind the wheel and everything was fine until suddenly the Devil jumped out from behind a tree and onto the hood of the car.

The novice slammed on the brakes in horror and wailed, "Mother Superior! What should I do?"

"Show him your cross," the Mother Superior calmly replied.

Heeding her words, the novice quickly rolled down her window, leant out and yelled, "Get off the frigging car you ugly bastard!"

[ 07. July 2005, 00:04: Message edited by: Simon ]

Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :

I enjoyed this one on The Vicar of Dibley and still enjoy it.

I think it is best as a spoken one. If you're a grammar-Nazi like me and you read it, the "your" / "you're" misunderstanding is a bit harder to spot [at least for me].

3 laughs.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

I like it.

Posted by Glimmer (# 4540) on :

Not bad. Heard it before in other guises (V of D has rarely been original). Best orally delivered, as they say.

Posted by Cheesy* (# 3330) on :

Slight snigger, even though I've heard it before.

C

Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :

I've also heard it with the swearing removed (the teller simply shouts 'GET OFF MY CAR!' very loudly).

This means the joke is only a pun, whereas the version in the OP also has the element of a nun swearing. Whether that makes it funnier or not is a matter of taste. (ETA: and of course the level of swearing varies with the teller - this one's pretty mild.)

[ 06. July 2005, 08:19: Message edited by: Gill H ]

Posted by LupinPooter (# 9690) on :

It's an oldie but a goodie. I think it's the pun that makes it funny - apart from explaining why they would have a cross, I'm not sure the nuns really add anything to the humour.

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :

I don't know, the reason I found this as funny as I did was partly because it reminded me of Pyx_e. I could just see him leaning out of the window shouting "Get off my car you ugly nun".

Sorry Pyx_e.

[Snigger]

Posted by Pyx_e (# 57) on :

[Big Grin]

Posted by serena (# 7649) on :

This one gets me every time - although yes, it works better orally, because the your/you're confusion is more evident, rather than looking like an irritating typo!

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :

In my language, "cross" and "crotch" are the same word. So for a moment I was expecting a completely different ending! [Eek!]

Posted by Auntie Doris (# 9433) on :

*giggle* and that thought made me laugh even more than the actual joke!!! [Killing me]

Auntie Doris x

Posted by Midnight Scholar (# 9112) on :

Version I heard before involves Dracula rather than Satan - this one's still worth a giggle though.
One of the funnier offerings so far IMO, thanks

Posted by angelfish (# 8884) on :

This is one of my favourite jokes, as I love the idea of the nuns sitting serenely in the car until the younger one winds down the window and lets fly at the devil. I think that sudden contrasts or changes of mood can be very humorous, as well as the incongruity of (a)nuns driving cars and (b)nuns being angry.

Not at all offensive, which is why I like it so much.

Posted by Carys (# 78) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Ian Climacus:
I enjoyed this one on The Vicar of Dibley and still enjoy it.

I think it is best as a spoken one. If you're a grammar-Nazi like me and you read it, the "your" / "you're" misunderstanding is a bit harder to spot [at least for me].

3 laughs.

Indeed. I had to go back and read the line again to get it!

Posted by Newman's Own (# 420) on :

With my love for plays on words, and jokes which hinge on misunderstanding of what someone says, I enjoyed this one. I understand that, when Henry VIII first heard it, he nearly fell out of his cradle laughing.

I could picture the Monty Python crew making this an hilarious sketch - on paper, it still is mildly funny.

Posted by Eliab (# 9153) on :

Funniest with Dracula - because vampires are conventionally repelled by crucifixes, and the same is not so obviously true of the Devil. If I was hearing (rather than reading) it for the first time, I'm not sure that I'd get cross=symbol for dealing with the Devil - I could easily make the same mistake as the novice nun. With a vampire, the association with the sign of the cross is already there.

What makes it funny is firstly the pun, secondly, the nun swearing, and thirdly, her belief that very powerful supernaturally evil creatures might just go away if you shout loudly enough at them. That's touching and humane, and not at all offensive.

Posted by iGeek. (# 3207) on :

Doesn't travel across the Atlantic well; "cross" as in "angry" is understood on this side of the pond but is in rare usage. I imagine the non-anglophile would be more likely be perplexed.

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :

I liked it when I first heard it and like it now. Best not printed: verbal. Big laugh and no offense.

Posted by Paul Mason (# 7562) on :

The version I heard was also with Dracula and funnier because the swearing was worse - so the shock of a nun swearing was part of what made it funny.

Posted by Chapelhead (# 1143) on :

Funny, because it has a silly pun but also plays on the stereotypes of nuns (as not being the type to be cross) – and nuns are pretty funny anyway.

Not at all offensive, as the language is clearly been chosen so as not to offend.

Posted by Long-Johns Silver (# 1763) on :

The version I knew had the nun saying "get off my car you naughty, naughty, devil" much funnier in this instance as it plays on the innocence & ties in with being 'cross' as opposed to "angry", "pissed off" etc.
Also in the milder version it can be used in the pulpit [Big Grin]

Posted by Julian4 (# 9937) on :

I like "get off my car you naughty, naughty, devil", too. I'm not particularly bothered by swearing in jokes but this is just funnier without. I agree it would be better heard rather than read - the "your"/"you're" pun only works aurally, but it should be a vampire rather than a devil. Quite funny in any of these versions, not offensive.

Posted by JillieRose (# 9588) on :

I always thought it was better with the vampire myself.

*sniggers anyway*

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