"An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman" is the opening line of a category of joke popular in Ireland and Great Britain. The nationalities involved may vary, though they are most usually restricted to those within the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and the number of people involved is usually three or sometimes four. In Ireland, the characters are sometimes called "Paddy Irishman (or a Corkman), Paddy Englishman, and Paddy Scotsman". The punchline is usually based around the Irishman's stupidity, the Scotsman's meanness (or frugality) or the Englishman's snobbishness. Sometimes, when the joke requires four people, a Welshman is brought into the joke.
Read more about An Englishman, An Irishman And A Scotsman: Form, Examples, National Variations
Famous quotes containing the word irishman:
“The doctors are all agreed that I am suffering for want of society. Was never a case like it. First, I did not know that I was suffering at all. Secondly, as an Irishman might say, I had thought it was indigestion of the society I got.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)