People
My husband and I are either going to buy a dog or have a child. We can't decide to ruin our carpet or ruin our lives.
— Rita Rudner
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
A joke about how both choices are equally messy. A dog would wreck the carpet, and a child would upend a whole life, but the speaker weighs them as if the stakes were the same. The humour comes from treating flooring and life-changing decisions as equals.
Context reviewed