A children’s pun about baseball equipment is:
Q: What is a hermit?
A: A girl’s baseball glove.
The “hermit/her mitt” joke has been cited in print since at least 1979. The joke was mentioned in William Safire‘s “On Language” column in the New York (NY) Times in 2002, along with other “sport redefinitions.”
Google Books
October 1979, Boys’ Life, “Think & Grin,” pg. 82, col. 3:
Daffynishion: Hermit — a girl’s baseball glove. — Norm Crawford, Morton Grove, III.
Google Books
March 1986, Boys’ Life, ‘Think & Grin,” pg. 88, col. 1:
Daffynition: Hermit— a girl’s baseball glove.— Tim Spellman, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Google Books
Squeaky Clean Jokes for Kids
By Bob Phillips and Steve Russo
Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers
1997
Pg. 132:
Dottie: What is a hermit?
Ignatius: You’ve got me.
Dottie: A girl’s baseball glove.
New York (NY) Times
ON LANGUAGE
Clean Yer Clock
By WILLIAM SAFIRE
Published: February 3, 2002
(...)
SPORTS REDEFINITIONS
superficial (n.), “a really good referee” (Mel Siedband).
beleaguered (adj.), “stuck in the semipros” (Eric Mencher).
contrapuntal (adj.), “foolishly advocating passing instead of kicking on fourth down” (Alfred Greenberg).
hermit (n.), “girl’s baseball glove” (Judith Werben)
Google Groups: alt.humor.puns
“Puns of the Weak” 08/23/02
Stan Kegel
8/23/02
(...)
Hermit: Girl’s baseball glove (William Safire)
Twitter
kendra k
@kendrak
what is a hermit? a girl’s baseball glove.
11:31 AM - 13 Dec 2007
The Amazingly Lame Joke of the Day
Sunday, August 21, 2011
What is a hermit?
A girl’s baseball glove.
Posted by Tim Wycislak at 1:55 AM
Twitter
Andrew Johnson
@SotaJohns
Maher’s Joke of the Day: Anybody know what a “Hermit” is? A girl’s baseball glove
9:04 AM - 6 Apr 2016
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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