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So I found a joke that goes like this:

私の家はそりゃもう狭かったのよ。どれくらい狭かったかって？ 横に歯磨きができないのよ。

Now, if translated correctly, it should be saying:

My house is like already very narrow. How narrow? From the sides you can't brush your teeth.

Is the joke just lame, did I translate it incorrectly, or is there a double meaning that I am not seeing?

macraf
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Coupon22
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    This seems less like a joke and more like a statement on how narrow his house is. Which seems to be (give or take) about a metre. It seems more like an exaggeration of his predicament. – The Wandering Coder Nov 05 '15 at 05:58
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    It would be funny if it wasn't so true. – macraf Nov 05 '15 at 06:15
  • @macraf If it helps to make the point of statement any more true, I actually do hit my elbow on the door when brushing my teeth in front of the bathroom mirror. – The Wandering Coder Nov 05 '15 at 06:27
  • Motion is relative. Keeping your head motionless and moving the tooth brush has the same effect as keeping your tooth brush motionless but moving your head. Problem solved! – Second Person Shooter Nov 05 '15 at 10:18
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    横に歯磨きができない、というたとえは、日本語ではあまり言わないので、少し分かりにくいです。猫の額ほど狭い、という表現なら、よく使います。 – Second Person Shooter Nov 05 '15 at 10:20
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    @YasashiiEirian Then I would hit my head on the other wall. Or get really dizzy in the process. I solve the problem by brushing in the Kitchen hallway. – The Wandering Coder Nov 06 '15 at 00:02
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    i guess I'm the only one who's laughing. This is more of a piece of conversation. To not be able to brush my teeth horizontally. My condo in Tokyo was almost like that. hahaha. – Kentaro Nov 06 '15 at 01:30
  • I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's (1) primarily opinion based ("what's funny here?"); (2) it's unclear what OP is asking for (especially seeing his answer); (3) there is no Japanese language-related concern in this question (or rather seeing OP's own answer it was about "how to properly explain the method of brushing the teeth in English?" – macraf Nov 06 '15 at 23:34
  • What? I think it's clear what they're asking. They didn't understand 横に, but they eventually figured it out, so they posted an answer in case anyone else has the same problem. I upvoted :-) –  Nov 07 '15 at 03:27
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    Talking of narrow places, I've heard of the expression "eel's bed" (うなぎの寝床) for townhouses (machi-yas) indicating that it's very narrow but deep. – Andrew Grimm Nov 07 '15 at 08:18

1 Answers1

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To bring this to a finality, I will answer my own question.

横に歯磨き refers to brushing teeth sideways, and the joke, which is more of a comical overstatement, is referring to a living space that is so crammed that he does not have space to brush his teeth. So while there are cramped spaces in larger cities in Tokyo, it is not necessary a pun or a particular reference.

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