Allusion - Reference to something or someone outside the joke itself that requires the recipient to have knowledge of in order to ‘get it’.
Burlesque - A comically exaggerated imitation, especially in a literary or dramatic work.
Butt - A particular target for humour that can be instantly recognisable such as used in ‘mother-in-law’ and ‘blonde’ jokes: these jokes generally work because we are aware of the stereotypes and thus no introduction is needed.
Cliché - A phrase or saying that has been used so often that it has lost its freshness.
Dénouement - A story or joke that has no amusing properties until the end has been reached and the ‘punchline’ delivered.
Hyperbole - Overstatement/exaggeration.
Inferiority - ‘Putting down’ oneself for comic effect, thus making the recipient feel superior.
Irony - The expression of meaning through the use of language signifying the opposite, typically for humorous effect (sarcasm).
Lampoon - A form of satire that mocks an individual.
Malapropism - Using a word that sounds similar to the one intended, but has a different meaning - can be deliberate or accidental, both may achieve comic effect. e.g. ‘My father’s having an operation on his prostrate’ (prostate).
Meiosis - Understatement.
Oxymoron - A statement which seems absurd that can have comic effect. e.g. ‘Military Intelligence’, ‘Socialist Worker’.
Parasitic Humour - Based on existing material - a parody of the original, such as ‘spoof’ songs and films.
Pun - A joke that relies on the double meaning of words for effect e.g. ‘what makes a tree noisy - its bark’.
Register - A style of language used to make a situation appropriate; an imitation that mimics a particular genre.
Satire - The use of ridicule, irony etc. to expose folly or vice, or to lampoon an individual.
Schoolboy Howlers - Mistakes that have comic effect. The term comes from answers given by children in exams etc. such as ‘Noah’s wife was called “Joan Of Arc”’.
Spoonerism - The transposing of initial sounds of words for comic effect. e.g. ‘a tip of the slongue’ replacing ‘a slip of the tongue’.
Superiority - Taking pleasure at the downfall of another for comic effect (mockery).
Taboos - Subjects of humour that are avoided or can be used for shock effect. Taboo subjects are such as excreta, sex and sexuality, disability, sexism and racism.
Tautology - The unnecessary repetition within a statement of the same thing in different words. e.g. ‘Hurricane Higgins can either win or lose this final match tomorrow’ (Archie McPherson, Sports Commentator).
Wit - The use of words and ideas in a quick and inventive way to create humour, a quality much admired in comedians: compare the terms ‘quick witted’ with ‘slow witted’, the latter not being complimentary!
