Martin,
The joke originated as follows:
A reporter approaches a Russian, a North Korean, a Saudi, and a native New Yorker and asks, “Excuse me gentlemen, what is your opinion of the current meat shortage?”
Russian: “What is ‘meat’?”
Saudi: “What is ‘shortage’?”
North Korean: “What is ‘opinion’?”
New Yorker: “What is ‘excuse me’?”
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
-DB