Going Up In The World
Jimmy left school at 14, unable to write, but made a great success of his market stall. He arranged with the bank to honour cheques signed "X X".
Nearing retirement, he moved to a large house, and was enjoying splurging on luxuries. He wrote a cheque for £1000 for one item, but the bank refused to honour it.
He rang up, furious at this slur, as he had ample funds to cover the payment. The manager explained that it was not signed in the usual way, but as "X X X".
"Oh", said Jimmy, "now that we've moved into a posher area, my wife says I should start using my middle name."