sarcastic interrogative. noun. Defined by folklorist Charles Clay Doyle as “stock questions with glaringly obvious yes or no answers. The function of each such question is to respond derisively to a prior query, itself calling for a yes or no answer so as to suggest that the answer to the original query is too obvious to be worth proffering seriously.” Perhaps the most famous example: “Is the Pope Catholic?” And perhaps the most canonical: “Can a duck swim?”
Some colorful examples (please share some of yours!):
- Is a frog’s arse watertight?
- Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back?
- Does Howdy Doody have wooden balls?
- Does Barbie have a plastic fanny?
- Does a maurauding mackerel make a mullets muckhole munch?
- Do chickens have lips?
- Is a pig’s butt pork?
- Do fat babies fart?
- Does a snake have knees?
- Is the hole close to a donut?