Q: What’s it like being kissed by a vampire? A: It’s a pain in the neck!\nWhat do you think is the punchline of the above joke?
Explanation: Happy Halloween to those of you who celebrate! Many countries around the world celebrate Halloween, or another somewhat-related holiday around this time of year. A Mexican student of mine once commented that Halloween is a lot like Day of the Dead, but several others disagreed. I also disagreed, but can see some connections.
In the United States, Halloween for children is about dressing up in costumes and trick-or treating, asking for candy. One of the most popular costumes continues to be a vampire. Vampires are well known for biting the neck of their victims and drinking their blood. If someone were to bite your neck, it would really hurt; it would cause a pain in your neck.
A pain in the neck is an idiom that means something that is bothersome, difficult, or annoying to deal with. A neighbor’s dog that won’t stop barking might be a pain in the neck; someone who complains all the time might be a pain in the neck.
This joke is funny because it plays with different meanings of pain in the neck: A literal pain that hurts you, and the idiom that means something that is annoying.
Here is how National Geographic explains the history of Halloween: