Q: Where can you go to practice math on New Year’s Eve? A: Times Square!\nWhat do you think is the punchline of the above joke?
Explanation: Happy New Year! It’s 2023 which means that Explain the Joke is celebrating 10 years of explaining jokes in English.
To get better at math, people often people often practice addition (+) or subtraction (-) problems; then they work on multiplication (x) and division (÷), and all the way through calculus and beyond. Practicing multiplication is also known as practicing your times tables. You can say what is seven times nine (7 x 9), or you can can say what is seven multiplied by nine. They mean the same thing, times or multiplied by.
Times Square is an area in New York City. One of the things Times Square is known for is its party on New Year’s Eve. During that party, many people gather in Times Square and watch on TV to see the ball drop; when the ball gets to the bottom, the new year starts. (By the way, to drop the ball is an idiom that means to make a mistake.)
This joke is funny because it plays with the ideas of times (multiplication) and Times Square.
If you would like to see the ball drop to mark the beginning of 2023, take a look here: