At every party, there are two kinds of people–those who want to go home and those who don’t. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other.

The joke turns on a familiar social asymmetry: in any gathering, some people are energized by staying while others are drained and eager to leave. Landers’ punchline—“they are usually married to each other”—frames marriage as a pairing of opposites whose differences become most visible in public, time-bound rituals like parties. Beneath the humor is an observation about compromise and emotional labor: couples must continually negotiate competing needs for stimulation, rest, sociability, and control of the schedule. The line’s popularity comes from its quick recognition value; it validates a common marital tension without moralizing, suggesting that such mismatch is normal rather than a sign of deeper failure.