etymology - Why and when did "crack" come to mean "tell"?


Cracking jokes is to me the most familiar contextual usage of this term.


Why would anyone say they were cracking jokes, not just telling jokes?



Answer



There is a difference between "Crack" and "Tell" when it comes to jokes. To crack a joke is to make an original witty remark (i.e. something that, in context, is funny, but would not necessarily stand alone as humor); to tell a joke is to relate a bit of humor that is expected to be received well by your audience.


A sample of the difference:


Your friend says "Hey, did you hear this news story? A bookie in Vegas was attacked by one of his customers."


You say "Wow, I guess they were really at odds with each other. Baaahaha!"


You have just cracked a joke. A small, lame pun-based joke, to be sure, but still.


Your friend says "How many mice does it take to screw in a light bulb? Two, but how did they get into the lightbulb in the first place?"


Your friend has just told a joke.


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