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[amnesiac]

"I used to do drugs. I still do. But I used to, too."

I think "but I used to, too" is supposed to be the punchline but I don't get why it's funny. Somebody explain it to me.

 

[FutureZombie]

First he makes it sound like he's clean, but then he reveals that he still uses drugs and that his turn of phrase was tricky.

Example:

I used to be in prison. I still am. But I used to be, too.

It's factually true, but it makes it sound like that was solely your past and not your present.

 

[Emitan]

Saying you used to do something doesn't necessarily mean you don't continue to do it.

 

[Jack Scofield]

When people say they "used to do" something, that typically implies they don't anymore. But Mitch's joke is that he did drugs in the past and he does drugs in the present.

 

[TemplaerDude]

Smoke some more weed and listen to it again.

Trust me on this one.

RIP Mitch.

 

[Machine]

Years ago, a guy told me "I don't drink any more...of course, I don't drink any less either." Seems like a variation on that.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

"I used to do drugs" implies he did once, then quit.

But he is playing with your assumption of what the line meant by saying he still does.

There, now you get the joke and it's been rendered ineffective because I explained it.

 

[Amir0x]

It's a simple punchy word play.

When people hear "I used to do drugs", the automatic assumption is that means they no longer do. His joke plays off that assumption. Because he USED to do drugs, but he still does as well.

 

[Paper Fox]

I miss Mitch.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

The conceit is that most people say "I used to" when describing something they no longer do. He still does do drugs however, so he has successfully toyed with your expectations.

 

[Arkos]

I used some spot remover on my dog
Now he's gone

 

[Lissar]

And now this makes me sad since drugs caused his death. :s

He was (and still is) my favorite comedian.

 

[amnesiac]

It's a simple punchy word play.

When people hear "I used to do drugs", the automatic assumption is that means they no longer do. His joke plays off that assumption. Because he USED to do drugs, but he still does as well.

Ah, okay, thanks. The joke probably isn't as funny as it could have been if I understood it in the first place.

 

[Ezduo]

I bought a talking parrot but it never said, "I'm hungry" so it died.

 

[injurai]

Saying you used to do something doesn't necessarily mean you don't continue to do it.

This is very true. But it's sort of a schroedinger because saying "used to" contains an implicit discontinuity. Meaning you used to, then stopped. This doesn't mean you couldn't have started up again. But the discontinuity is there.

 

[Log4Girlz]

I think the joke is playing on the words "used to" implying he no longer does drugs, but in reality, it does not preclude someone from still doing drugs. Perhaps someone can explain it more clearly than I.

 

[NYR]

"I used to do drugs. I still do. But I used to, too."

I think "but I used to, too" is supposed to be the punchline but I don't get why it's funny. Somebody explain it to me.

Past, present, future.

Past - I used to do drugs. Implies I did drugs in the past - also implies, though social mores, that one stopped using drugs. This isn't inherent in the sentence though, as it is a reference to TIME not status.

Present - I still do. Implies he does drugs in the present. Implies current TIME.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

Escalators can never be broken. They just become temporarily stairs.

 

[The Boat]

Great, now I'll have to watch every single Hedberg video online. Again.
EDIT: Dogs are forever in the push-up position.

 

[Emitan]

This is very true. But it's sort of a schroedinger because saying "used to" contains an implicit discontinuity. Meaning you used to, then stopped. This doesn't mean you couldn't have started up again. But the discontinuity is there.

It's just a joke, dude.

 

[DonasaurusRex]

seems like he's classifying himself as a drug user ...by revealing that he was , is and still is a drug user. Like a play on division and classification. States of time are divisible but classification of him being a user isnt.

im probably wrong.

 

[Sub_Level]

Escalators can never be broken. They just become temporarily stairs.

lol

seems like he's classifying himself as a drug user ...by revealing that he was , is and still is a drug user. Like a play on division and classification. States of time are divisible but classification of him being a user isnt.

im probably wrong.

I think you waaaaaaaay overexplained a simple play on words O_O but you're not wrong.

 

[freenudemacusers]

it's a joke about multiple personalities

 

[injurai]

It's just a joke, dude.

You must mean the thread. Because obviously discussion can't expand beyond the punchline.

There are reasons why people such as OP might not get the joke at first, I was providing some insight.

 

[Empty]

Great, now I'll have to watch every single Hedberg video online. Again.

yep yep

thanks op!

 

[notworksafe]

"I used to do drugs. I still do. But I used to, too."

I think "but I used to, too" is supposed to be the punchline but I don't get why it's funny. Somebody explain it to me.

Ask Opiate. Dude is the master of jokes.

 

[temp]

This is very true. But it's sort of a schroedinger because saying "used to" contains an implicit discontinuity. Meaning you used to, then stopped. This doesn't mean you couldn't have started up again. But the discontinuity is there.

????

 

[Cat]

It's already been explained, so I just wanted to say I like Mitch Hedberg. He was funny.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

????

He's saying that the absurdist notion that one can exist simultaneously while possessing antithetical traits, in this case drug use and sobriety, is a source of humour which will perpetually be misappropriated in order to prove that science is rad.

 

[Aztechnology]

An escalator is never out of order, only temporarily stairs, sorry for the convenience.

You brought up all these feels, RIP Mitch.

 

[B For Bendetta]

It took me probably a year to understand the cast joke

 

[CountAntonius]

I saw this wino, he was eating grapes. I was like, 'Dude, you have to wait.

 

[J10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian

A paraprosdokian /pærəprɒsˈdoʊkiən/ is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.[1] Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but they also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a form of syllepsis.

I'm always fascinated by comedians who do these kinds of jokes because I feel like could never write one myself, even though I get them. Seems like a special kind of mind that can think that way.

 

[B For Bendetta]

I saw this wino, he was eating grapes. I was like, 'Dude, you have to wait.

Ha ha ha ha ha love this dude

 

[Cousteau]

When I was a boy, I laid in my twin-sized bed and wondered where my brother was

 

[johnny_park]

My roommate said to me, 'I'm gonna go shave and use the shower; does anyone need to use the bathroom?' It's like some weird ass quiz where he reveals the answer first.

 

[jay]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian

I was going to post that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian

 

[dyls]

I like Dave Attell's version of that joke.

"I used to do drugs, but that was way back... there." [points to the back of the room]

 

[phillipgessert]

My roommate said to me, 'I'm gonna go shave and use the shower; does anyone need to use the bathroom?' It's like some weird ass quiz where he reveals the answer first.

I'm heading to the store, do you need anything?

 

[Cyan]

Great, now I'll have to watch every single Hedberg video online. Again.

Fact.

 

[Alucrid]

My roommate said to me, 'I'm gonna go shave and use the shower; does anyone need to use the bathroom?' It's like some weird ass quiz where he reveals the answer first.

hes being considerate since shower and shave take more time so hes giving you the chance to piss

 

[akira28]

hes being considerate since shower and shave take more time so hes giving you the chance to piss

He was telling a joke, not asking for advice

I'm heading to the store, do you need anything?

"I'm heading to the store, does anybody need anything"

repaired.

 

[freenudemacusers]

Fact.

That is going to take a long time, there are more than 190,000 on youtube alone. You're not going to have any time to mod. chaos will reign on neogaf.

 

[CornBurrito]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian



I'm always fascinated by comedians who do these kinds of jokes because I feel like could never write one myself, even though I get them. Seems like a special kind of mind that can think that way.

I know at least a few story villains from comics/books/movies/anime that do the the whole "lol I was using my exact words and not the commonly implied meaning" shtick.

 

[Cyan]

That is going to take a long time, there are more than 190,000 on youtube alone. You're not going to have any time to mod. chaos will reign on neogaf.

So... you're saying there'd be no difference?

 

[WedgeX]

If only he hadn't been, too.

I think of him every time in near a doubletree, riding an escalator, or near a duck.

 

[lunchtoast]

So then he says "How do you think I rang the doorbell?"

 

[freenudemacusers]

So... you're saying there'd be no difference?

neogaf used to be chaotic. it still is, but it used to, too.

 

[Cyan]

neogaf used to be chaotic. it still is, but it used to, too.

I don't get it.

 

[Fatalah]

There was a period in between when it wasn't chaotic.