Empty wooden chairs surround a dining table set with candles and flowers in a warmly lit amber room.

Original artwork, not a still

George Burns

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring close-knit family in another city.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

George Burns defines happiness through a pointed contradiction. A large, loving, close-knit family sounds warm until the punchline places that family safely in another city. The joke works by praising affection while insisting on distance from it.

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