There were even cartoons in the 80s and 90s that made this joke. I vaguely recall a Bugs Bunny cartoon or something similar where the characters were at an auction, and one went to hit another and the auctioneer interpreted it as a bid, and they spent the rest of the show trying to get other people to accidentally place bids, too, to outbid them so they wouldn’t have to pay for it.
There were even cartoons in the 80s and 90s that made this joke. I vaguely recall a Bugs Bunny cartoon or something similar where the characters were at an auction, and one went to hit another and the auctioneer interpreted it as a bid, and they spent the rest of the show trying to get other people to accidentally place bids, too, to outbid them so they wouldn’t have to pay for it.