My landing page at Urban Dictionary was so laugh out loud funny I forgot what I went there to look up in the first place. I’ve never even heard of this:

A “Third Joke” is when someone says something funny, someone else feels the need to follow it with something that may or may not also be funny, and then a third person, trying to keep up, follows up with a third quip, which by this point is most definitely no longer funny.

It is important for others at this point to call “Third Joke” out loud to point out the third individual’s social error, to embarass them for killing the funny.

A truly unskilled individual can Third Joke on the second quip.

Bob: “And then I said, “That’s not my fish!”" Haha!

Bill: “A halibut tale!” Haha!

Ted: “I smell fish!” Ha.. um.

Bob: “Third Joke, Ted.”

Leave it to me to be out of touch with basic modern humor …. I think I should get a medal for being able to Third Joke on the First Joke.

Oh yeah, now I remember my original query: “ropegun”:

1. ropegun
in rock climbing:
(n) ropegun: the person who climbs first and attaches the rope to the safety devices on the way up, allowing everyone else to climb with the rope attached above them. more dangerous and fun.

Link to “third joke” at Urban Dictionary
Link to “ropegun” at Urban Dictionary

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