"What does it mean to pre-board? Do you get on before you get on?"

George Carlin’s question about “pre-boarding” highlights the absurdities buried within everyday language, particularly the jargon used in airline travel. To “pre-board,” by literal interpretation, would suggest the act of boarding before actually boarding, a paradox that invites amusement and confusion. Carlin zeros in on the prefix “pre-,” which generally denotes something that happens before the main event. By deconstructing “pre-board,” he nudges the listener to consider what actual action is taking place. Is it possible, he jokes, to get on the plane before you truly get on?

The humor derives from exposing a disconnect between language and logic. Airlines, in their attempts to organize passengers into groups or provide added service to certain travelers, created the term “pre-board” to mean the opportunity to board before the general passenger population, typically for those with special needs, young children, or elite customers. Carlin, however, points out that the word doesn’t simply mean “early boarding”; instead, it implies a sequence that doesn’t logically exist. There’s no step prior to boarding that can itself be called boarding, so “pre-board” becomes a nonsensical redundancy.

Carlin’s line serves not only as a comedic take but also a wider commentary on how organizations, airlines in particular, sometimes use imprecise or inflated language to describe mundane processes. The joke underscores how we adopt and internalize these terms, rarely scrutinizing their validity. The phrase encourages listeners to question the logic behind the words they encounter daily, especially those institutionalized by corporate or bureaucratic systems. In the end, it’s an affectionate jab at our willingness to accept language at face value, while also poking fun at airline culture’s peculiar need to standardize even the most trivial aspects of travel with euphemistic or grandiose language. Carlin’s wit presses us to look past the surface of familiar terminology and appreciate the quirks of our shared lexicon.