Mother-in-law joke

[1] British comedians such as Les Dawson and Jim Davidson have often used them, and many television sitcoms have featured stereotypical mothers-in-law.

There is evidence that this joke dates back to Roman times: Satire VI by Juvenal says that one cannot be happy while one's mother-in-law is still alive.

In a book on cartooning written by Dave Breger, the author lists a series of "tired gags", and gives a suggestion on how to exploit them.

Cotterill also found that daughters-in-law did not find them funny either, largely because they saw that one day the jokes could be applied to them.

A widely reported case is that of the London borough where, in 2010, a workshop leaflet called "Cultural Awareness: General Problems" advised against using them.