i like to play jokes on my wife. Then reference them
1. Shoplifting. Two weeks after I had my knee replacement (and my wallet disappeared...I think it fell in the trash. Called and replaced the cards) I had had enough sitting around or lying in bed. So, I went shopping. I was on one crutch. When I was done, I decided to pull the wife's chain for bitching about me going/doctor didn't say I could, etc. I told her I got busted for shoplifting. I was in pain and forgot to pay for something. They stopped me at the door and took me in the back security room. They took my sweatpants. Thank god I had underwear. Asked how I got beer without an ID (lost wallet, waiting on that). Security said I probably stole my card from someone. All you people on crutches and wheelchairs steal shit. Probably stole my phone too! Can you come downtown and bail me out? Said the security guy was coming back into the room and was putting rubber gloves on... Each thing I said, she was all WTF!! going off. I busted out laughing at the "gloves" point. Now, all I gotta say is "shoplifting" and she goes off.
2. Demure inner child. When we lived in Idaho and we were having some issues, I drove her up on this beautiful spot overlooking the Cabinet Mtns. I told that in spite of me being a rough sort, I really had this demure inner child that loved things sweet and pretty. I got the "AAAWWEOHH, That's so sweet of you." I couldn't hide the evil he, he, he laugh, laugh and she got pissed. But, she somehow believed that somewhere inside me was this sweet child, so she called my brother and asked him. He said, "Yeah he's got and inner child, Damian."
3. Teabag/potato sack As a gag gift for a batchelor party I was given a deck of "porn" cards. My wife like them, except one of them was a guy teabagging a girl. When the wife was pregnant with our first, that struck here the wrong way, Oh man did that somehow piss her off. And of course, when the "Chuck Norris-isms" came about, potato sacking was just an extension of that.
I've been married 33 years and it always makes me laugh when tossing out a metaphor and watching her go off.