Lest Anyone Be Embarrassed

This is one of my favorite stories of all time, told to me by my mother way back and therefore likely to be pretty factually imprecise as recalled now. All necessary improvements in accuracy that do not reduce the impact of the punchline are indeed welcome. (See TheOriginalFolkTale on some more of my strangely sloppy views in this area.) -- RichardDrake

NoelCoward had just arrived in London as an up and coming writer and wit in the early twentieth century. Coward came from a pretty ordinary background and had no previous experience of the elite and snobbish "high life" of those days. Early on he was invited to a particularly exclusive morning drinks party. From lack of experience he wore completely the wrong outfit, a light colored lounge suit say rather than the "obviously correct" morning suit. He arrived late and as the door opened Coward's major faux pas was clear for all to see. The whole party went silent.

He surveyed the scene and said, with great aplomb: "I don't want anyone to feel embarrassed".

Perhaps I am culturally impaired - I just don't get it. I know that jokes are never funny if they have to be explained but I'd still love to know the explanation for this one. -- PhilGoodwin

I guess you had to be there... :-)

Seriously, though, it's pretty funny because of the juxtaposition of roles - Noel Coward is the person who should be embarrassed for making a faux pas. This is a common form of English humour that is taken to extremes by the Goons and MontyPython.

However, additional humour value comes from English culture - the English class system, social conventions, manners, etc. - which does not really translate into other cultures, even other English-speaking cultures.

The elite stopped and stared because he might have been purposefully breaking the rules. By saying "I don't want anyone to feel embarrassed," the guest implied that everyone else in the room was dressed wrongly. This is funny because the guest and the elite know that it is indeed the guest who is dressed wrongly. It is also a clever social move because the statement acknowledges that he knows he made a mistake - now the elite will not feel that he is purposefully breaking the rules. Mistakes are often forgivable; purposefully breaking the rules less so, so he changed the scene from one of hostility ("how dare he!") to one which allows the elite to forgive him, perhaps even identify with him.

Yes, pretty fair summary. Context is everything with these things. On Wiki as well. -- RichardDrake

CategoryHumor CategoryStory