Practical Joke

Posted by R. Berg on February 15, 2004

In Reply to: Practical Joke posted by Bob on February 15, 2004

: : Where did the phrase 'Practical Joke' come from.

: : It's not'really a practical thing to do?

: Practical joke, a joke put in practice; a joke the fun of which consists in something done, in distinction from something said; esp., a trick played upon a person.

: Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

The idea here is that jokes that you DO belong in a different category from jokes that you TELL. We don't seem to have a word for the "told" kind of jokes.