Marriage Quote by Henny Youngman

A whole marriage, collapsed into a vaudeville spit-take: "Take my wife... Please!" works because it weaponizes the smallest possible pause. The setup sounds like the classic affectionate intro to an anecdote. Then the ellipsis yanks the floor away, re-framing "take" from "let me tell you about" to "remove her from my life". It is misdirection so clean it barely feels like a trick - and that efficiency is the point. Youngman isn't building a story; he's executing a one-line con.

The intent is comic aggression with a tuxedo on. The line invites the audience to laugh at domestic dissatisfaction while keeping the speaker plausible, even charming. "Please!" seals the hypocrisy: it's both politeness and desperation, a word that signals social grace even as it reveals contempt. That clash makes the joke feel naughty but safe, like watching someone break a rule in a sanctioned arena.

Context matters: this is Borscht Belt and mid-century stand-up, a world where marriage jokes were a lingua franca and the stage persona was a harried husband doing battle with modern domesticity. The subtext isn't just "my wife is difficult"; it's "marriage is a contract I can't escape, so I'll turn it into a punchline". Today it reads as a time capsule of mainstream misogyny - the wife reduced to a prop - but also as a masterclass in comedic mechanics. Youngman shows how little language you need to expose a cultural script: romance sold as destiny, lived as routine, processed as gripe, redeemed as laughter.