landing a plane
Ret's ESL Jokes
An aeroplane is preparing to land. The pilot and his co-pilot spot the runway and are instantly horrified.
“But it’s tiny!! We’ll never be able to land on a runway that short! We’re all going to die! They’re insane for building something this small!”
The tension rises. The plane descends. At the very last possible moment, it screeches to a stop right at the very end of the runway.
Sweating but relieved, the pilot exclaims, “That runway was really, really short!”
The co-pilot looks to the right, then to the left, and replies, “Yeah… but wow, was it wide!
Vocabulary
To spot: to catch sight of or notice something, often from a distance.
To screech: to make a loud, harsh, piercing cry or sound, often associated with tyres braking suddenly.
The crew managed to spot the runway through the thick fog.
The car screeched to a stop just before the traffic lights.
Grammar Focus
The joke employs the present continuous to set the immediate scene, but the narrative backbone relies on the past simple for completed actions.
Present Continuous for immediate action: An aeroplane is preparing to land.
Exclamatory Inversion: The co-pilot uses was it wide (adjective + subject) to emphasise the intensity of the width.
Synonyms & Alternatives
Tiny: minuscule, minute.
Relieved: comforted, reassured.
Mini Dialogue
Captain Arthur: We need to spot the runway before our fuel runs out!
Officer Miller: Look! It is right there, but it looks tiny from this altitude.
Captain Arthur: I am sweating, but I think I can make it if I brake hard.
Officer Miller: Great heavens, that was that short? We almost hit the grass!