Stop cheating Johnny

That change is the source of the punchline. The words “Me neither” only make sense in relation to somebody else’s admission of not knowing. They are not the name of a president, and they do not independently explain what Johnny knows. His attempt to borrow an answer has carried over the relationship between two speakers as well as the words on the page.

The story also depends on timing. If the teacher began with that last answer, Johnny would have little room for his confident objections. By moving through the ordinary matches first, the exchange gives him the chance to insist that shared answers prove nothing. The third example then reveals why this particular match is different from the earlier ones.

Johnny’s mistake is therefore more specific than failing to recall a historical name. He copies a response without noticing that its meaning depends on who wrote it and what it answers. Mr. Johnson does not need a longer argument once the final words appear. The joke ends at the moment when the pupil’s own phrasing supplies the evidence he demanded.