Dad jokes are a type of joke, typically a pun, often presented as a one-liner or a question and answer, but less often a narrative. They are generally inoffensive and are stereotypically told with sincere humorous intent or to intentionally provoke a smile. Dad jokes are often associated with fathers and are considered a wholesome joke of the type said to be told by fathers with a punchline that is often an obvious or predictable pun or play on words. They are usually judged to be endearingly corny or unfunny.

Dad jokes are different from other ways of joking in their performance, even formulaic jokes. They seem to court failure, presenting themselves as deliberately bad, deliberately uncool, deliberately anti-humor. Dad jokes work on at least three levels: as puns, as anti-humor, and as a kind of weaponized anti-humor when dads use them to teasingly annoy and/or embarrass their children.

Dad jokes are often used to embarrass children, but they can also be good for them. A study found that dad jokes, which are embarrassing, can help children build stamina when dealing with embarrassment as they grow into adults, resulting in being comfortable with who they are.

Here are some examples of dad jokes:

• "Im afraid for the calendar. Its days are numbered."
• "I ordered a chicken and an egg online. I’ll let you know."
• "It takes guts to be an organ donor."
• "If you see a crime at an Apple Store, does that make you an iWitness?"
• "Im so good at sleeping, I can do it with my eyes closed!"
• "What did the vet say to the cat?" "How are you feline?"
• "What do you call a lazy baby kangaroo?" "A pouch potato!"
• "How do lawyers say goodbye? Well be suing ya!"
• "Wanna hear a joke about construction? Oh never mind, Im still working on that one."

In summary, dad jokes are a type of joke, often presented as a one-liner or a question and answer, but less often a narrative. They are generally inoffensive and are stereotypically told with sincere humorous intent or to intentionally provoke a smile. Dad jokes are often associated with fathers and are considered a wholesome joke of the type said to be told by fathers with a punchline that is often an obvious or predictable pun or play on words.