The Guardian's top ten funniest jokes from the Edinburgh fringe, 2026

Ronan Fitzgerald
@rmkf.bsky.social
· 14h
Every year, 'the 10 best jokes from the Edinburgh festival' arrive to destroy what's left of anyone's interest or faith in stand-up comedy.

I hate AI because it keeps trying to steal the jobs I love, like creative writing and being confidently wrong.

The Trump administration is like the movie Oppenheimer – it’s full of weird white guys and halfway through you wish it would end early.

I’m having an awful time at the moment. The back of my car fell off and you’ll never guess what you can’t buy at a car boot sale.

Olaf Falafel: I remember thinking, as I taped a piranha to my boomerang, this could come back to bite me.

Richard Stott: To the person who stole my bank card and spent all my money on ancestry.com – you know who you are.

Scout Boxall: I like my men like I like my passwords – weak, easily compromised, barely distinguishable from each other.

Li Jin Hao: A friend said to me: ‘The last thing I wanna be is racist,’ and I was like: ‘Oh, so it’s on your list?’

Jenny Gorelick: I dated a magician – I was seeing him, now I don’t.

Adele Cliff: I hate AI because it keeps trying to steal the jobs I love, like creative writing and being confidently wrong.

Chris Grace: The Trump administration is like the movie Oppenheimer – it’s full of weird white guys and halfway through you wish it would end early.

Anna Thomas: I’m having an awful time at the moment. The back of my car fell off and you’ll never guess what you can’t buy at a car boot sale.

Bella Hull: I lost my nail file, so I’ve just been using the pavement. As a method, it’s concrete.

Alex Kitson: I spent all day writing a joke about margarine and I can’t believe it’s not better.

not as bad as usual. there, put that on the poster.

I actually was thinking that myself but still predominantly shite, of course.

I like the Oppenheimer joke better as the more oblique, bleak, we are eternally in purgatory “The Trump administration is like the movie Oppenheimer – it’s full of weird white guys and halfway through”

Funnyish - Stott, Boxall
Raised a momentary wry smile - Li, Thomas, Kitson
Vague and fleeting quirk of the lips - Falafel
Shite - the rest

really testing my "if you can't say something nice" resolve here

The margarine joke could be hilarious with the right delivery

i tried to tell a joke about DHL once, but i got the delivery wrong.

oof these are bad

however, "ancestry.com" is a cut above the rest and is the only chuckle i've gotten out of this poll in however many years we've been polling these. so that

"I lost my nail file, so I’ve just been using the pavement."

I like this better without the punchline.

This list actually has some funny jokes on it for a change

Saw this as the ranked thread on sandbox first - as I posted there, the "can't believe it's not better" joke was done by the Lucksmiths about 20 years ago. I do like the "I like my men like" joke and the racism one, they're both a little obvious but still funny jokes.

Racism one isn't especially funny but it's a good line.

I like my punchlines like I like my passwords - ***********

The racism one is very funny IMO

That's the one I chose. Could imagine that one getting laughs in a conversation.

The racism one is very funny IMO

― Whatwhawhawhaehawhahwawhawwww (DJP), Friday, August 21, 2026 9:28 AM (three hours ago)

it would be funnier if i didn't keep literally running into (queer white) people unironically saying things just as stupid

but yes, i do think this list is funnier than usual. as is my wont, i've chosen to be disappointed at this list's failure to inflict pain on my psyche.

I definitely made this poll run too long, soz.

Interesting though, the sandbox giving live updated positions. I daresay the final results will be quite similar, will see...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Hmm, bigger turn-out than the sandbox but quite similar results