The Best Simpsons Jokes That Have New Meanings 20 Years Later

It’s incredible to think that the animated sitcom ‘The Simpsons’ has produced 34 seasons since it began in the 1980s. While some people might feel the quality of the show has declined during that time, there’s no denying that what they’ve achieved is an impressive feat. A lot of that success is down to the humor of this series, with the writers pulling off some incredible jokes over the years.

Of course, some of the best jokes came during what’s referred to as the “Golden Age of ‘The Simpsons,’” which was over 20 years ago now. This era was filled with some incredible humor, although some of it didn’t land the way that it was supposed to. It’s only years later that the show’s cast and writers are revealing different meanings to these iconic gags.

Sometimes a joke in The Simpsons can be deeper than you think

Homer comes out with some hilarious lines on ‘The Simpsons,’ with one of the best being from season five. In episode 12, he answers the phone, saying: “You’ll have to speak up; I’m wearing a towel.” It’s a hilarious moment that seems like a non-sequitur because why would having a towel wrapped around his waist influence his hearing? However, perhaps there was more to this line than we realized. After all, it’s not uncommon for people to wrap their hair in a towel when it’s quite long, which could affect their hearing. So, perhaps Homer had heard people saying this line and misunderstood the reason why.

Dan Castellaneta saw things differently with Hank Scorpio’s shoe gag

In the second episode of season eight, Homer moves his family away from Springfield to go and work for Hank Scorpio. When the supervillain brings the Simpsons a housewarming present, talk eventually turns to his shoes, which he says goodbye to and throws away. Scorpio proceeds to ask Homer if he’s “Ever seen a guy say goodbye to a shoe?” to which the man says yes. According to Dan Castellaneta, he’d been referring to an unrelated incident that had happened earlier in Homer’s life. However, for years, plenty of fans wondered if he’d actually just been talking about what he’d just witnessed.

Hank Azaria revealed how misinterpretation can affect a gag

Sometimes, the jokes in ‘The Simpsons’ hit the way they do because people misinterpret what the characters say. Episode 23 of the show’s sixth season is an excellent example of this. While hosting an illegal poker game, Homer mentions his garage and sparks some mockery from Moe. He thinks the head of the Simpson household is being pretentious by using this word, prompting Homer to ask what he would call it instead. According to Hank Azaria on social media, Moe answers with “car hole.” However, many viewers believed for years that what he actually said was “car hold.”

Some additional knowledge can really change your understanding of a joke

‘The Simpsons’ is packed full of jokes, but not all of them land the way they’re supposed to. Sometimes, that’s because viewers don’t have all the information they need to understand the humor. Take Mr. Burns and his penchant for answering the phone with “Ahoy hoy” during the earlier years of the show. On the surface, it probably just seems like another one of the man’s eccentricities. However, we realize all these years later that he’s answering in the way that Alexander Graham Bell apparently wanted people to answer their calls. By making this connection, we realize the show is suggesting that Mr. Burns has been around since the 1870s at least.

Two writers saw something completely different in the same joke

It seems that even those behind the scenes have different interpretations of gags on ‘The Simpsons.’ For instance, the fifth episode of season seven included a moment where Ralph Wiggum gets excited about being able to sleep. In his words, “That’s where I’m a Viking.” According to Josh Weinstein, the meaning of this line is that the boy dreams about being a Viking when he’s asleep. However, Mike Scully admitted on social media that he’d found this remark hilarious for a completely different reason when it was pitched. In his eyes, this was simply Ralph’s special way of saying that he was great at sleeping.

The Simpsons has turned some nonsense terms into neologisms

There’s no denying the impact that ‘The Simpsons’ has had on the world when you consider this next gag. During the seventh season’s 16th episode, there’s a joke around the words “embiggen” and “cromulent.” At the time, these meant absolutely nothing, so when Miss Hoover says that “embiggen” is a “cromulent” word, it’s all just nonsense. Fast forward to today, though, and they’ve both become neologisms. So, the claim that “embiggen” is a “perfectly cromulent word” actually makes a lot of sense all these years later.

It’s wild to think about just how much we’re still discovering with these early seasons of the show over 20 years later. Perhaps that means people will start to appreciate some of the sitcom’s newer humor after enough time has passed.