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 fathers 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 Noahs 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!
