Anti-humor
Encyclopedia
Anti-humor is a type of indirect humor that involves the joke-teller delivering something which is deliberately not funny, or lacking in intrinsic meaning. The audience is expecting something humorous, and when this does not happen, the irony itself is of comedic value. Anti-humor is also the basis of various types of prank
s and hoax
es. It is considered to be very postmodern.
" with the answer, "To get to the other side." This joke is so common that it has passed into regular humor, but it illustrates that punchlines in anti-jokes can achieve their effect by being mundane. Another example is:
In writing, it is common to put a period after the punchline of the anti-joke rather than an exclamation mark to reflect its dry and superficially non-humorous tone. Anti-jokes may rely on deconstruction
of the joke, deriving comedy from the unexpected or inappropriate use of technical or circumlocutional
language (crossing into meta-joke
):
The no soap radio
joke, often used as a prank, is a common example of anti-humor.
Another form of anti-joke is commonly called a shaggy dog story after the joke which exemplifies it. This involves telling an extremely long joke with an intricate (and sometimes horribly grisly) back story and surreal or incredibly repetitive plotline, but ending the story with either a weak spoonerism
(e.g.'Better Nate than lever!'), or abruptly stopping with no punchline at all. Versions of these jokes may take up to several minutes to tell. The Aristocrats
is an adult version of this formula.
Some anti-jokes are humorous because they involve shock humor or dark humor — unexpectedly blunt and graphic punchlines which often reference death, infanticide and terminal illness.
, had his own unique brand of anti-humor, quasi-surrealist
acts coupled with performance art.
Ted Chippington
's act contained non-jokes delivered in a Midlands monotone. Jimmy Carr
is noted for his anti-humor style, anti-jokes being told with a straight face and very precise delivery. Bill Bailey
is also noted for his particular brand of anti/meta-humor. John Thomson
's stand up character, Bernard Right-on, would deliver set-ups to un-PC
jokes (in the style of Bernard Manning
), but confound the audience with tolerant, deliberately unamusing punchlines, eg. "A white man, a black man and an Indian walk into a bar. What a wonderful example of an integrated society".
Alternative comedy
, among its other aspects, parodies the traditional idea of the joke as a form of humor. Andy Kaufman
saw himself as a practitioner of anti-humor. Other comedians known for their anti-humor are Ted Chippington
, Jimmy Carr
, Neil Hamburger
, and Bill Bailey
.
Some jokes derive humor from wordplay and puns. They are subverted through substituting the pun with an equivalent phrase with no such linguistic device, creating a cognitive dissonance
with the superficial resemblance to the original.
Anti-humor sometimes manifests itself in poking fun at bad humor by the way of parody
. An example is Jim's Journal
, a comic strip by Scott Dikkers
, co-founder of The Onion
.
Other jokes rely on parts of a joke told in the wrong order or parts of different jokes told together, creating an effect similar to non-sequitur
.
Two Penquins were taking a bath. Suddenly, one of them said "Where's the Alarm Clock?"
Anti-humor and anti-jokes is a kind of humor based on the surprise factor
of absence of an expected joke
or of a punch line
in a narration which is set up as a joke. This kind of anticlimax is similar to that of the shaggy dog story In fact, some researchers see the "shaggy dog story" as a type of anti-joke.
Practical joke
A practical joke is a mischievous trick played on someone, typically causing the victim to experience embarrassment, indignity, or discomfort. Practical jokes differ from confidence tricks in that the victim finds out, or is let in on the joke, rather than being fooled into handing over money or...
s and hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
es. It is considered to be very postmodern.
Common examples
The most common example of anti-joke is "Why did the chicken cross the road?Why did the chicken cross the road?
"Why did the chicken cross the road?" is a common riddle or joke in several languages. The answer or punchline is: "To get to the other side". The riddle is an example of anti-humor, in that the curious setup of the joke leads the listener to expect a traditional punchline, but they are instead...
" with the answer, "To get to the other side." This joke is so common that it has passed into regular humor, but it illustrates that punchlines in anti-jokes can achieve their effect by being mundane. Another example is:
- "What do you get when you cross a muffin with chocolate chips?"
- "A chocolate-chip muffin."
In writing, it is common to put a period after the punchline of the anti-joke rather than an exclamation mark to reflect its dry and superficially non-humorous tone. Anti-jokes may rely on deconstruction
Deconstruction
Deconstruction is a term introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1967 book Of Grammatology. Although he carefully avoided defining the term directly, he sought to apply Martin Heidegger's concept of Destruktion or Abbau, to textual reading...
of the joke, deriving comedy from the unexpected or inappropriate use of technical or circumlocutional
Circumlocution
Circumlocution is an ambiguous or roundabout figure of speech...
language (crossing into meta-joke
Meta-joke
Meta-joke refers to several somewhat different, but related categories: self-referential jokes, jokes about jokes , and joke templates.-Self-referential jokes:...
):
- "Three blind mice walk into a bar. They are unaware of their surroundings, so to derive humour from their predicament would be exploitative."- Bill BaileyBill BaileyBill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
The no soap radio
No soap radio
No soap radio is a traditional punch line for a prank joke. The body of the joke is not related to the punch line itself, but is made out to be humorous by participants in the prank...
joke, often used as a prank, is a common example of anti-humor.
Another form of anti-joke is commonly called a shaggy dog story after the joke which exemplifies it. This involves telling an extremely long joke with an intricate (and sometimes horribly grisly) back story and surreal or incredibly repetitive plotline, but ending the story with either a weak spoonerism
Spoonerism
A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
(e.g.'Better Nate than lever!'), or abruptly stopping with no punchline at all. Versions of these jokes may take up to several minutes to tell. The Aristocrats
The Aristocrats (joke)
"The Aristocrats" is an exceptionally transgressive dirty joke that has been told by numerous stand-up comedians since the vaudeville era...
is an adult version of this formula.
Some anti-jokes are humorous because they involve shock humor or dark humor — unexpectedly blunt and graphic punchlines which often reference death, infanticide and terminal illness.
- "What did the little boy with no arms or legs get for Christmas?"
- "Cancer."
- "Knock, knock."
- "Who's there?"
- "The police. I'm afraid there's been a serious road traffic accident; your partner is in intensive care."
- "Who's there?"
Anti-humor in stand-up comedy
Anti-humor jokes are often associated with exaggeratedly bad stand-up comedians. One legitimately successful stand-up comedian, Andy KaufmanAndy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
, had his own unique brand of anti-humor, quasi-surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
acts coupled with performance art.
Ted Chippington
Ted Chippington
Ted Chippington is a British stand-up comedian. His act is one in which the conventions of his chosen craft are routinely flouted...
's act contained non-jokes delivered in a Midlands monotone. Jimmy Carr
Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
is noted for his anti-humor style, anti-jokes being told with a straight face and very precise delivery. Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
is also noted for his particular brand of anti/meta-humor. John Thomson
John Thomson (actor)
John Patrick Thomson is an English comedian and actor, known for his roles in The Fast Show and Cold Feet.-Early life:...
's stand up character, Bernard Right-on, would deliver set-ups to un-PC
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
jokes (in the style of Bernard Manning
Bernard Manning
Bernard John Manning was an English comedian and nightclub owner. He was born and raised in Manchester in northwest England....
), but confound the audience with tolerant, deliberately unamusing punchlines, eg. "A white man, a black man and an Indian walk into a bar. What a wonderful example of an integrated society".
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
, among its other aspects, parodies the traditional idea of the joke as a form of humor. Andy Kaufman
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
saw himself as a practitioner of anti-humor. Other comedians known for their anti-humor are Ted Chippington
Ted Chippington
Ted Chippington is a British stand-up comedian. His act is one in which the conventions of his chosen craft are routinely flouted...
, Jimmy Carr
Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
, Neil Hamburger
Neil Hamburger
Neil Hamburger is a standup comedian character played by comedian and musician Gregg Turkington.-Style:Hamburger's live act, which is quite different from his many albums, features a barrage of question/answer jokes aimed often at celebrity targets, including Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, The Red...
, and Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on Black Books, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News for You, and QI.Bailey was listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in...
.
Subversions of traditional jokes
These anti-jokes rely on using widely known jokes which the audience is likely to have heard before. Instead of ending the joke in the usual humorous way, a mundane substitute is used, resulting in an anticlimax.- Q: Waiter! What's this fly doing in my soup?
- A: Oh, I'm terribly sorry sir, I’ll replace this with a fresh bowl of soup and I’ll have a word with the manager to see if we can deduct a sum from your bills for the inconvenience we have caused you. (Usually 'the backstroke'.)
- Q: What's the difference between a chicken and the Kyoto Protocol?
- A: One is a domestic fowl; the other is an international convention on climate change. (The "one is an x, the other is a y" response structure usually implies a SpoonerismSpoonerismA spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched . It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner , Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency...
.)
- A: One is a domestic fowl; the other is an international convention on climate change. (The "one is an x, the other is a y" response structure usually implies a Spoonerism
- Q: What did the farmer say when he lost his tractor?
- A: "Where's my tractor?" (A "what did the ... say" joke usually implies a humorous punPunThe pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
involving the person.)
- A: "Where's my tractor?" (A "what did the ... say" joke usually implies a humorous pun
- Q: What's worse than finding a worm in an apple?
- A: The Holocaust. (Usually 'Finding half a worm'.)
- Q: What do you call a fish with no I's?
- A: Blind. (Usually 'Fsh')
- I was sitting next to a man with jelly in one ear and custard in the other, so I turned to him and said "Are you a trifleTrifleTrifle is a dessert dish made from thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice or gelatin, and whipped cream. These ingredients are usually arranged in layers with fruit and sponge on the bottom, and custard and cream on top....
deaf?" and he said "no, I'm mentally ill as it happens" ~ Paul MertonPaul MertonPaul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
- Q: What did Batman say to Robin to get him in the car?
- A: "Get in the car."
Some jokes derive humor from wordplay and puns. They are subverted through substituting the pun with an equivalent phrase with no such linguistic device, creating a cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying,...
with the superficial resemblance to the original.
- Q: When is a door not a door?
- A: When it is half-open. (usually 'When it is ajar')
- That mushroom is a really charismatic person (usually 'fungi')
Anti-humor sometimes manifests itself in poking fun at bad humor by the way of parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
. An example is Jim's Journal
Jim's Journal
Jim's Journal is a comic strip written and drawn by Scott Dikkers, co-founder of The Onion. The strip first appeared in the University of Wisconsin–Madison The Daily Cardinal newspaper in 1988....
, a comic strip by Scott Dikkers
Scott Dikkers
Scott Dikkers is a United States comedy writer and filmmaker. He was the founding editor of The Onion, and the leading creative force behind the publication's rise from a local college newspaper to an internationally acclaimed humor brand name...
, co-founder of The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
.
Other jokes rely on parts of a joke told in the wrong order or parts of different jokes told together, creating an effect similar to non-sequitur
Non sequitur (absurdism)
A non sequitur is a conversational and literary device, often used for comedic purposes. It is a comment that, because of its apparent lack of meaning relative to what it follows, seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing....
.
- Knock Knock
- Come in.
- My dog's got no nose!
- Terrible.
- Knock Knock
- KNOCK KNOCK
- KNOCK! KNOCK!
- KNOCK KNOCK
Nonsense jokes
Nonsense jokes lack intrinsic meaning, and become funny simply because they are absurd.- Q: What is the difference between a duck?
- A: One of its legs are both the same.
- Q:How many muffins does it take to canoe up a tree?
- A: Four and a half, to bomb the door and flip the oar.
- Q:What's the difference between a telephone pole and a motorcycle?
- A: 24, because ice cream has no bones.
- Q:What's the difference between a plum and a rabbit?
- A: They're both purple, except for the rabbit.
Two Penquins were taking a bath. Suddenly, one of them said "Where's the Alarm Clock?"
Anti-humor and anti-jokes is a kind of humor based on the surprise factor
Surprise factor
The surprise factor is a technique used in storytelling to produce a visceral reaction from the audience. It is created by telling a story in a way which creates a certain perception of events which is then revealed to be false often in exact opposition to original perception...
of absence of an expected joke
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
or of a punch line
Punch line
A punch line is the final part of a joke, comedy sketch, or profound statement, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be funny or to provoke laughter or thought from listeners...
in a narration which is set up as a joke. This kind of anticlimax is similar to that of the shaggy dog story In fact, some researchers see the "shaggy dog story" as a type of anti-joke.
See also
- Anti-artAnti-artAnti-art is a loosely-used term applied to an array of concepts and attitudes that reject prior definitions of art and question art in general. Anti-art tends to conduct this questioning and rejection from the vantage point of art...
- Dadaism
- Meta-jokeMeta-jokeMeta-joke refers to several somewhat different, but related categories: self-referential jokes, jokes about jokes , and joke templates.-Self-referential jokes:...
- Nonsense verseNonsense verseNonsense verse is a form of light, often rhythmical verse, usually for children, depicting peculiar characters in amusing and fantastical situations. It is whimsical and humorous in tone and tends to employ fanciful phrases and meaningless made-up words. Nonsense verse is closely related to...
- The AristocratsThe Aristocrats (joke)"The Aristocrats" is an exceptionally transgressive dirty joke that has been told by numerous stand-up comedians since the vaudeville era...
- Shaggy dog story
- Koan