Michael In a discussion, if there are funny mix-ups, it might happen that an American exclaims "Who's on first?" and everyone laughs. This refers to a classic sketch by the comedy team "Abbott and Costello" from 1936, in which Abbott plays the coach of a baseball team whose players have confusing names like "Who," "What," and "I don't know."
Costello keeps asking, "Who's on first?" ("Who plays first base?"), but Abbott interprets Costello's question as a statement and answers "Yes," because the player named "Who" is indeed the first baseman ("'Who' is on first.”).
Growing increasingly confused, Costello eventually asks, "What's the guy's name on first?" But Abbott immediately corrects him: "No, What's the guy on second,” because the player named "What" plays not on first base, as Abbott interprets Costello's question to suggest, but on second. Costello, however, again understands this sentence as a question ("What's the guy on second?") and complains that Abbott should stop answering his questions with other questions.
| Video: Abbott and Costello |
The humor in the language arises from the fact that Costello, as is commonly done in colloquial speech, does not raise the pitch of his voice at the end of his questions, leading Abbott to interpret them as statements. Meanwhile, Abbott correctly does not raise his voice at the end of his statements, but Costello mistakenly perceives them as questions. The sketch lasts six minutes, with more players with confusing names appearing, while the audience is in stitches. A milestone in the development of American humor! In the next newsletter: The Knock-Knock Joke.