Animal Jokes
Question & answer
When will the little snake arrive?
I don't know, but he won't be long.
Behind the Groan
Why the Little Snake Will Not Be Long
“It won’t be long” usually means something will happen soon, so the answer first sounds like reassurance about the snake’s arrival time. The setup specifies a little snake, however, giving “long” a second meaning: the snake itself will not have much length. Deliver the response casually, as though you truly do not know when it will arrive. Avoid stressing “long” too strongly. The joke lands when listeners reconsider the ordinary time expression and connect it to the snake’s size.