2014-01-24
Explanation
The Joke
A man tells a woman named Sally, "You know, Sally, it takes more muscles to frown than to smile." She asks if he's saying she should smile more. He clarifies: "I'm saying if you were more muscular, your face wouldn't be so weak and flabby." In the final panel, Sally is shown frowning intensely, and another woman says "There we go!" approvingly.
The Humor
The comic subverts the common patronizing phrase "it takes more muscles to frown than to smile," which is typically used (especially by men toward women) to tell someone they should smile more. Instead of the expected message, the man takes the "muscles" part literally, treating frowning as a facial workout and criticizing Sally's face for being "weak and flabby." The punchline in the final panel shows Sally frowning hard as an exercise, with approval from a bystander — turning what is usually a sexist platitude into absurd fitness advice. The comic also implicitly mocks men who tell women to "smile more."