[Ads-l] Joke Origin: "Do You Serve Lobsters Here?" "Yes, We Serve Anyone"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks for searching, Peter. Also, thanks for investigating, Stephen.
I did encounter that match, but, as Peter noted, the date was
ambiguous. The book containing the joke was #6 in a series called "New
Jokes and Monologues by the Best Jokers".

WorldCat and HathiTrust list the bracketed date [c1906] for that book
(as Stephen mentioned).

I checked #4 in this series, and the copyright date was unambiguously
1904. So, I concluded that the correct date for #6 in the series was
1906 and not 1900.

Your help is appreciated
Garson

On Tue, Apr 21, 2026 at 2:14 PM Stephen Goranson
<00001dd3d6fc15d3-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> WorldCat lists this google copy as 1906. And lists others as 1904, 1905,
> and 1906, but no 1900 there.
>
> On Tue, Apr 21, 2026 at 1:49 PM Pete Morris <mr_peter_morris at outlook.com>
> wrote:
>
> > This appears to be from 1900.  Copyright date is a bit blurry,  might be
> > 1906,
> > but I think it's 1900
> >
> >
> > https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/New_Jokes_and_Monologues_by_the_Best_Jok/-eg7AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=waiter+%22Do+you+serve%22+joke&pg=PA14&printsec=frontcover
> >
> > =========================
> >
> > You might include this as a precursor from  1885.
> >
> > "Do you serve The Lord" "No, sir, he never sits at my tables"
> >
> >
> > https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Australian_Journal/gqRGAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=waiter+%22Do+you+serve%22&pg=PA522&printsec=frontcover
> >
> >
> > ------ Original Message ------
> > From "ADSGarson O'Toole"
> > <00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Date 21/04/2026 06:10:34
> > Subject Joke Origin: "Do You Serve Lobsters Here?" "Yes, We Serve
> > Anyone"
> >
> > >The joke in the subject line is a member of a family of gags which
> > >includes the following two examples:
> > >
> > >"Waiter, do you serve shrimps here?" "Sure. We don’t care how tall you
> > >are. Sit down."
> > >
> > >"Do you serve crabs?" "Yes, we treat all customers alike."
> > >
> > >Nigel Rees discussed this family in the April 2026 issue of his "Quote
> > >… Unquote" newsletter which inspired me to explore the topic.
> > >
> > >The earliest match in this family I found appeared in "The Scioto
> > >Gazette" of Chillicothe, Ohio in March 1901:
> > >
> > >[Begin excerpt]
> > >"Do you serve lobsters here?" asked the new arrival.
> > >"Well," replied the waiter, "we 'as our instructions to discriminate
> > >as much as possible among them as comes in to eat."
> > >[End excerpt]
> > >
> > >In each of these jokes, the seafood term is not interpreted as a menu
> > >item; instead, the term is applied to the customer. Each joke can be
> > >understood as an absurdist misunderstanding. Further, circa 1901 there
> > >were several slang interpretations for "lobster". Here are three
> > >senses listed in "Green's Dictionary of Slang":
> > >
> > >[Begin excerpt]
> > >2. (a) (US) a slow-witted, awkward, or gullible person; a general term
> > >of abuse; esp. of a socially inept or foolish person.
> > >
> > >2. (b) an older man who gives a younger woman presents and/or money in
> > >return for sexual favours.
> > >
> > >3 (US) in the context of obtaining money, one who is a waste of effort.
> > >[End excerpt]
> > >
> > >Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
> > >https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/04/21/serve-lobsters/
> > >
> > >Feedback welcome
> > >Garson O'Toole
> > >
> > >------------------------------------------------------------
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