Language Barrier

So as the big day for Ringling Brothers looms nearer, the Husband talks about it everywhere.  At daycare he sees a flier, "I'm going to go see the clowns there!!!"  The manager says, "Oh are you taking your son?" "Nah," he replies.  I step in with, "We don't think our son will be able to handle sitting through the entire show."
The Husband continues, "Seriously, you should be there when a bunch of clowns get together."
"Do you clown around?" says the manager.  (Which is still funny, even though it no longer sounds either original or clever).  The Husband doesn't laugh.  I'm not sure he understands how it's funny, but it is an idiom and English is not his first language.
"Yeah!", says the Husband.  "It's so crazy.  Some clowns are very SERIOUS about being a clown."  He's trying to point out the irony of the situation to the manager, but she misses it.  Possible language barrier.  I'm starting to enjoy myself.  They're both cracking jokes and neither one is aware of it!  Oh what a day!