I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high.

This joke gets its chuckle from a clever bit of wordplay, specifically a pun. The humor hinges on the double meaning of the word "surprised." On one hand, it's a natural emotional reaction to being told something unexpected about your appearance. On the other, raised eyebrows are a universal visual cue for surprise, making the punchline a literal description of the wife's new look. The comedic effect comes from the visual of excessively high eyebrows directly mimicking an expression of astonishment, creating a funny, albeit unintentional, double entendre.

The act of drawing or filling in eyebrows is a common part of many people's beauty routines, with trends evolving dramatically throughout history. From the heavily plucked, thin lines of the 1920s and 30s to the bolder, fuller brows popular today, people have always adjusted their eyebrows to frame their face or achieve a certain look. Sometimes, in the pursuit of a particular aesthetic, eyebrows can indeed be drawn a little too high, leading to an unintentionally wide-eyed or perpetually surprised expression. This joke playfully highlights that relatable observation about cosmetic choices and their sometimes amusing visual outcomes.