Comedian wins 'best clean joke' title at Leicester Festival

An astronomy researcher has picked up the title for ‘best clean joke of last month's Leicester Comedy Festival’.

Andy Bucks, 32, and based at Warwick University in Coventry came top of the list with his gag 'I looked up the word singular in the dictionary, and that can mean only one thing’. 

Bucks, who performed his show Wipping Boy at this year’s festival, said: ‘I'm so stoked to have won… this is amazing.’

The competition was set up by one-liner comedian Masai Graham, three-ime winner of Dave's Joke of the Fringe at Edinburg, who compiled a shortlist, then handed it over to fellow comic Mark Simmons to select the winner.

Graham said: ‘After five years of living in Leicester and running shows at the festival, I noticed there was never a top ten of jokes so decided to make one myself.’

His list is: 

1. ‘I looked up the word singular in the dictionary, and that can mean only one thing.’ Andy Bucks

2. ‘I pulled over and asked someone for directions to Wednesbury. He said it was between Tuesbury and Thursbury.’ Chris Webb.

3. ‘My watch has stopped. I'm not sure when that happened.’ Matt Hollins 

4. ‘I wish I hadn't started this family tree. I'm now up to my niece in it.’ Richard Pulsford

5. ‘I'm using Uber as a dating app now. I just keep cancelling until I get a cute one with a Mercedes.’ Rosa Fernandez

6. ‘I got offered a job as a roofer. Fell through.’ Kevin O'Brien

7. ‘I was in a football team but I quit because I didn't like the people I was playing with. That's the same reason I stopped playing Solitaire.’ William Bradbury

8. ‘I had an arranged marriage. My missus just told me when to turn up.’ Lovdev Barpaga

9. ‘I used to drive a 4x4, but now I drive a 16 as the 4x4 got totalled.’ Noel James

10. ‘Everybody in Leicester loves hiking. Even the crisps are Walkers.’ Kevin Hudson

Published: 10 Mar 2026