NO THIRD STRIKE

What’s so funny about this? You’ve got to admit Steven Wright has a bizarre yet very clever mind. He pays very close attention to individual words and can just nail it when language is irrational or not logical. Today’s joke is a great example. It’s based on a common saying “You scared me half to death!” It’s also common to hear “You scared me to death!” the latter makes a little more sense and yet clearly the speaker is not a liar nor a zombie, nor dead. It’s just an exaggeration or hyperbole to indicate extreme fright. The former saying hedges by 50%. The speaker is not dead, nor a zombie. He or she is only half dead, depending on whether you’re a glass half-full or empty kind of guy. You could be relieved that you’re only half dead or you could be upset that already you’re half dead. All depends on your perspective. Leave it to Steven Wright to focus on the literal sense of the words spoken. He’s realized that two halves make a whole so if you are literally scared half to death two