What is the frayed knot joke?
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A rope walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Sorry, we don’t serve ropes.” The rope goes into the bathroom, tangles himself up and frazzles his ends. He walks up to the bartender who says, “Aren’t you that rope that was just in here?”
And he says, “Sorry, I’m a frayed knot.”
The joke involving the rope and the bar is a play on words that combines a classic “walks into a bar” setup with a punny punchline. The story starts with a rope being denied service at a bar. In an attempt to disguise himself, the rope tangles up and frazzles his ends. When questioned by the bartender, the rope’s response, “I’m a frayed knot,” serves as the punchline. This phrase is a homophone for “I’m afraid not,” a common way to say “no.” The humor emerges from the double entendre: the rope’s physical state of being “a frayed knot” and the play on the phrase “I’m afraid not.”