Howdy, Doofus! Or, an In-Joke is Born

Some years ago, after watching some Harry Potter movie or other, my second son mispronounced the Potterverse unlocking charm, “alohomora”, as “Aloha, Moron!” This led to the formulation of a companion charm, “howdeedoofus”, pronounced “Howdy, Doofus!”. We didn’t ascribe a meaning to this charm, just admiring the sound of it, but over time it has come to be a charm against bad jokes.

By which I mean: when my elder son makes a bad joke, I will say, “Howdy, Doofus!” This still happens at least once a week or so.