What do you do when you don't understand a joke?

When i dont get a joke what i usually do is laugh along,if I am with people whom I am not familiar with.And with friends i just ask them to tell it over again. And if its a dumb joke I laugh in such a way that the "joker" knows that I am making fun of him,I do that whoever I am with.I just love doing that.

I just put my vague face on and say the truth and say "I don't Get it " I don't know how many times in my life time I have been told I should have been a blonde. And then there are the ones who just think of me as being so innocent when I don't get some of the naughty ones...

If its somebody I dont know then I will play it off and act like I get it with my fake laugh.Family and friends its a bit different.LOL

It does really depend what company I am in as to how exactly I weill react. If it is close friends or family, I'll say I don't get it and then they will either laugh at me or explain what it meant.

Always number 3. Not always right away. I give myself a few to think about it and if I still don't get it, then I ask. If I get it after a few, then I laugh (if it's funny) and say "ahahaha that took me a second". If I get it and it's still not funny, I say 'ah..yeah that wasn't funny". I don't see a reason to pretend to get a joke that you don't no matter who it is. I'd say that shows embarrassment and/or want of acceptance. In my opinion.

i laugh. not to pretend that i don't understand, but because i don't get it. it's just funny to me, that someone's trying to make me laugh but didn't succeed. eheheh. but i'll tell them anyway, that i don't get it. then, they'll explain it to me. or just laugh harder. hehe but it's a different case when i'm with someone i'm not that close with. i'll be embarrased to admit that i don't quite get it. not because i don't want them to think that i'm slow, but because they tried hard to make the atmosphere lighter, only not to succeed.

I will take number three, if I don't get it, I just say so. I try not to be rude, but I have this thing with asking questions, LOL. I don't care if it portrays me as an “airhead”, I rather understand something than pretend to, so I ask.

I would give myself a couple of seconds to get it if i could not, I would simply ask what it meant. That what i would do generally, true, situations vary but generally speaking I would just simply ask what it meant. Thank you for the post ...

Nothing.

Depends on who said the joke, really. If it's someone I know, like a really good friend, I tell him/her the truth and say, "I don't get it." But it barely happens as me and my friends usuallyshare the same kind of humour. If it's someone I do not know personally, I just laugh. Not that I'm pretending, or that I'm laughing at him, it's usually because I'm laughing at myself because I didn't get the joke.

I say I dont get it. Which usually ruins the joke..lol. But most of the time I get the joke.... Now, my son makes up jokes, and we laugh like crazy at him. i am SURE they don't make any sense to anyone..LOL...Here is an example... How did the Giraffe get to the show? HE USED A RACE CAR...HAHAHAHAHAHA

Hi Vega, lol well I normally say "I dont get it". Im not good at playing things off like that, and 9 times out of 10 I will probably look more stupid by trying! I can see where the pressure of feeling that your not "smart" enough would lead some to do this, but I really dont care if someone thinks Im stupid or not. lol I am who I am, and I will try and make it humorous and laugh anyway. I think it shows that Im human, and Im honest. I would like to think that is how Im coming off. I find somethings really funny that others may not, so I sort of have an odd sense of humor. If someone thinks Im stupid because I didnt get a joke, then thats their opinion. Doesnt bother me any. Bay xx

If I didn't understand the joke I just laugh to be pretend that I understand so he/she didn't get imbarrassed.But if I am closed to that person I always said say it again.

It depends on the situation. If in the party with friends, I will ask for explaination. If in public, I will just smile politely and let it be. ^^

If I dont understand a joke Im the first one to say I didnt understand it.LOL I think its silly to laugh along and pretend you got the joke when you didnt.LOL

I am honest. I tell them I do not understand the joke, and it does not matter who I am with, if a joke is not funny to me, it is not funny period. I cannot go and pretend to laugh at something that might be offensive and if I do laugh, I am embarrassed right after and wish I did not. Look I used to be a people pleaser and found that did not work. I was very unhappy and was pulled by figurative strings by those around me, so I decided to not go that route anymore.

I don't laugh and actually screw my face up which says "huh?" I feel dumb at times but then again some of the jokes I get told are silly anyways and I am not really paying attention to it either. My friends are always joking with me and at times I don't really know if its a joke or not LOL I think it just says that I'm not that much of a funny person I suppose or don't have much of a sense of humor maybe!

It will depend on the people and your standing in the group. There are basically 3 types of relationships - peers, you-big-they-small and you-small-they-big. If we are all peers, I will just be honest and say that I don't understand the joke so can someone please explain it. There is nothing wrong with not getting a joke since the content may not be one that is familiar to you or your way of thinking. If it is a you-big-they-small kinda relationship, asking is ok too. After all, they would likely want to get into your good books. Alternatively, you can act sagely and pretend to know all things under the sun. If it is instead the you-small-they-big kinda relationship, I would suggest that we shut our gap and pretend to laugh along. To start with, you are a small fry - they probably wouldn't want to be bothered with you. They might be irked if they have to explain and they might frown why their newly acquired slug has suddenly picked up the faculty of speech. But of course, these are broad categories and there are more factors to consider whether to laugh at a joke you do not understand or come clean with how dense you really are. :P

I will be hiatus just like a snail, stop walking and just wavering the antennas and make pee. But I will ask later for what was all about that really tickles them. Normally they will tell me the summary.

It all depends on the person who render the joke if the person is sensitive I'd rather laugh even if I don't understand his joke. But if the person who render the joke is my closed friend I will surely tell him that I did not understand his joke and he should better explain to me the punch line so I would understand. It also depends on where we are and if there's a lot of people around us.