Q: What do you get when you combine Dictionary.com with a Dad Joke Contest?
A: 3,500 submissions and 5,200 votes, apparently!
For our Dad Joke Contest, we gave you a classic setup with a twist—“Why did the dictionary cross the road?”—and asked you to submit the corniest, punniest, dad-jokiest punch line you could muster. Dads and non-dads delivered big time—submitting more than 3,500 entries!
After reading every single one and groaning, cringing, and, yes, laughing along the way, we narrowed it down to three finalists, and then asked you to vote to determine the winner.
After more than 5,200 votes, we are ready to crown our Dad Joke Contest Champion!
🏆 The Winner
We love a good grammar pun! And we especially love the mental image of an anthropomorphic reference book on a stroll to visit its nana, who conveniently lives right across the street.
Fittingly, in our opinion (and apparently the opinion of the voters, too) this was the dad-jokiest of the finalists—so beautifully corny that you can’t help but roll your eyes, facepalm, and chuckle all at the same time. Perfectly simple and simply perfect.
Congratulations, Sharon! You are a Dad Joke Contest Champion!
Runners-Up And Other Punch Lines
This pun tells a story: Apparently, if the dictionary stays on its side of the road (remains stationary), it might end up as a stack of papers (stationery). As a bonus, we now have a way of remembering how to tell the difference between those two commonly confused spellings! Well played, Dennis!
We were impressed by this erudite play on the well-known expression “location, location, location” with the underused word locution: “a particular form of expression; a word, phrase, expression, or idiom, especially as used by a particular person, group, etc.” Nicely done, Thomas!
Not every punch line could make the final three, but here are some others that made us chuckle (or at least roll our eyes really hard). We’ve provided our scholarly analysis after each one.
Why did the dictionary cross the road?
😆 To get its meaning across. -Sally Schwieterman
Dictionary.com says: We loved how this one leveraged the literal meaning of an idiom.
😆 Because .com was on the other side and it needed more traffic. -Jeremiah Walters
Dictionary.com says: Somewhat pandering, but we appreciate the thought!
😆 Instead of looking up all the time it wanted to look left and right. -Carl Cardozo
Dictionary.com says: Get it? Looking up words? Looking left and right before crossing the street? Sorry, we’ll stop explaining the joke.
😆 It had defined the other side. -Jesse Bossard
Dictionary.com says: Solid, solid pun.
😆 To make a vowel movement. -Nat Mann
Dictionary.com says: lol. There were a few submissions in the same vein, which means we’re targeting the right audience.
😆 Because it could not find u and i. -Benji Davis
Dictionary.com says: Gotta love letter humor—many of the contestants do, anyway!
😆 Because the river was unabridged. -Delvine Nally
Dictionary.com says: A lot of you went with a play on unabridged, and we loved it.
😆 To get a synonym bun. -Holli Stanton
Dictionary.com says: Maybe one homemade by its Grammar?
Can’t get enough dad jokes? We’ve assembled a list of the good, the bad, and the corny.
The Setup
We took the father of all dad joke setups—“Why did the chicken cross the road?”—but held the chicken and swapped in the dictionary.
The setup: Why did the dictionary cross the road?
We asked you to supply the punch line.
For example:
Why did the dictionary cross the road? To find its meaning.
Why did the dictionary cross the road? Because it was afraid of the saurus.
Why did the dictionary cross the road? Because it was going through a rough spell. (Get it?? Spell! Hey-ooo!)
We’d rank these ones with a solid eye roll 🙄, but we challenged you to shoot for physical cringe 🤦 or, better yet, that audible groan 😖.
All the details—including judging criteria, prizes, and official contest rules—are included below.
The Criteria
We asked for the quintessential dad joke punch line: based on wordplay and as corny as can be. All entries were judged on the following criteria.
We required all submissions to:
- Be your own, original work.
- Follow the conventions of the classic dad joke—that means your punch line should be relevant to the setup and include a pun or some form of corny wordplay.
- Be 25 words or less.
The Prizes
The finalist who received the most votes will win:
- $100 gift card
- A gift package with Dictionary.com brand swag
The second- and third-place runners-up will receive:
- A gift package with Dictionary.com brand swag
All three finalists will have the opportunity to have their joke published on and shared by Dictionary.com.
Didn’t make the cut? Your joke may still have the chance to appear on our sites and social media.
