Q: Why don’t mummies take vacations from their work? A: Because they are afraid to unwind!\nWhat do you think is the punchline of the above joke?
Explanation: Most people enjoy taking a few days off from school or work to rest and relax, to unwind. In this sense, to unwind means to relax after work, after school, or after a stressful time.
To unwind also means to undo or open up something that has been wound up. Think of a ball of string– when you pull the loose end of the string you unwind it. You can also unwind an electrical extension cord, cassette tape, Christmas lights, ….
Mummies are wrapped up in cloth; if you start to take the cloth off the mummy in one long strip you are unwinding the cloth.
This joke is funny because it uses unwind in two different ways: to relax and to uncoil something.
With the following video you can learn to wind up and throw a traditional top.