On 12 November, I discussed male late-night comedians' frequent adultery similes, which are usually heterosexual and gendered. But last night, in discussing President Trump's idea of giving "pre-emptive pardons" to his children and cronies, Stephen Colbert did without gender and sexual orientation: "Honey. I will certainly tell you what I did with the neighbor last night – after you forgive me. Do you forgive me? Good, now I won't tell you because you've already forgiven me. And if I have to tell you, is that really forgiveness?" Here, all listeners can take up both positions in the joke, so nobody is excluded, and the joke is more effective than the narrower version. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 3 December)
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