Turning a bad situation into a funny one is always something to jump at.

This young man definitely did when his dad gave him a messily written grocery list that included “beet” instead of “beef.”

He asked for clarification, but his dad was impatient and told him to buy what’s on the list.

So that’s what he did.

Check out the details!

Cheap beet

I was at the store with this badly written grocery list.

My dad was nice enough to break the list down into sections, so I didn’t have to run department to department.

So when I got to the meat department, I saw something written as “cheap beet.”

This boy wanted to confirm what his dad wrote.

In reality, my father had written “cheap beef.”

Translation: “Go check the manager’s special section for whatever is cheap. I don’t care which one, just grab it.”

Still, I called to double check.

His dad was half-asleep and wouldn’t want to be bothered.

Me: “Dad, hey, did you write cheap beets or cheap …?”

Dad (sounding half asleep, cutting me off): “Huh? What? Listen, I’m in the middle of working on something.”

“You need to pick up whatever I put on the list!”

Me: “But, Dad, I just need to double ch–”

Dad: “Look, I’m busy. Just buy what I have on my list, and we’ll sort it out later.”

So, he followed what his dad said—to “buy what’s on the list.”

Cue malicious compliance.

Me: Ok, Dad.

I hang up, and decide to have a bit of fun.

First thing I do is buy a cheaper cut in the manager’s special section (to cover myself, so dinner isn’t ruined).

Then, when I’m in the Produce section, I look for beets.

Guess what? Organic is on sale.

He called to ask again how many should he buy.

I call up dad again.

Me: “Dad, how many cheap?”

Dad (cuts me off): “Look, either buy 2 or double, or just guess. Ok? Good god!”

Me: “Can you at least tell me if you want organic?”

Dad : “Yes, organically grown or grass fed is fine.”

His dad looked for the beef.

I took everything to the checkout and paid.

As I walked in the house to drop off my father’s groceries, he starts double checking it.

Dad: “Hey, where’s the…?

Me (I finally get to cut him off): “Right here!”

His dad was utterly surprised.

I hand dad the bag of cheap beets.

Cue surprised Pikachu face!

Me: “You said everything on the list and guess what… They were cheap!”

Dad looks at his list (sees his mistaken “T” for an “F”) and looks at his bag.

But he eventually gave the bag of beef to his dad.

Continuing surprised Pikachu face.

We had a good laugh, and a few minutes later, I brought him the real beef.

Dad admitted he was actually asleep when I called earlier.

So, I woke him mid-nap half-flustered and annoyed.

They still laugh about it.

No fallout, except I had to find an inventive way to cook beets, but thought the prank is worth it to slug through one beet dish.

So now, dad checks his list and even walks up to me and says, “It’s cheap beef, son.”

He still laughs.

Funny, huh?

Let’s find out how other people react from this story.

This user shares how to cook beets.

This one loves the story.

Well done on the pun, too.

This user shares a personal experience.

Finally, to make it even funnier…

It’s almost always a good idea to prank dad!

Especially if he’s got a good sense of humor.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.