So this guy is working in the produce department at a grocery store when a lady walks up and says, “Excuse me, where’s the broccoli? I can’t seem to find it.”
He replies, “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, we’re out of broccoli. We’ll have some first thing tomorrow morning.” Then he goes back to work.
A few minutes later, the same lady comes back and says, “Mister, where’s the broccoli? Do you have any broccoli?”
He replies again, “No ma’am, we’re fresh out of broccoli. We’ll have some tomorrow morning.” And he returns to his work.
A few minutes later, the woman walks up a third time, right in his face, and asks, “Why can’t I find any broccoli? Where’s the broccoli?”
At this point, the guy says, “Lady, do me a favor, will ya? How do you spell ‘cat,’ like in ‘catastrophic’?”
She replies, “C-A-T.”
He says, “Good. How do you spell ‘dog,’ like in ‘dogmatic’?”
She answers, “D-O-G.”
Then he asks, “Now, how do you spell ‘f*ck’ like in ‘broccoli’?” A little confused, the woman replies, “There is no ‘f*ck’ in broccoli.”
And the guy shouts, “THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU, LADY!”
Explanation: A woman repeatedly insists on finding broccoli despite being told it’s out of stock. The clerk tricks her with a spelling game, leading her to say, “There’s no F in broccoli.” His punchline “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” works as both a spelling joke and a frustrated outburst.
Harrison Ford delivered that now-famous broccoli joke during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman (also referred to as Late Night with David Letterman).
The joke was part of a 2012 episode where Maynard Letterman coaxed Ford into sharing the story, which earned him a standing ovation from the audience
