DRAM

165 SCENE STUDY

A Glossary of Verbal & Written Humor


Advice: advice in a Punchline structure.

Anecdotes: any interesting event that helps the humorist make a point.

Aside: a thought directed toward the audience or one’s self.

Blunder: humor based on a person making a mistake that makes them appear foolish.

Catch Tale: a funny story that “catches” the listener, building momentum by implying and awful ending and then abruptly changes
to something else.

Conundrum: a riddle that is answered with a pun. “Why do cows wear bells? Their horns don’t work.”

Epigram: a short satirical saying statement about a general group or topic; can be either word play or thought play. “The truth is
rarely pure and never simple.”

Euphemism: using a mild or indirect word for a more graphic or inappropriate word.

Freudian Slip: a funny statement which seems to just pop out, but which actually comes from the person’s subconscious thoughts
(often sexual).

Hyperbole: extreme exaggeration.

Irony: language that signifies the opposite or something other than a situation or an event; the situation seems deliberately contrary
to what is expected and is humorous as a result. Irony as a literary technique goes all the way back to Greek tragedies, in which the
full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience but unknown to the character.

Joke: short story ending with a “punchline” in the form of a funny climactic twist.

Misunderstanding: characters misinterpret a situation or dialogue; a turn of events created by misleading or ambiguous dialogue.

Oxymoron: or “comical oxymoron" implies that a term or phrase that is generally excepted is obviously contradictory. “Jumbo
shrimp” "Educational TV"

Pun: a play on words

Recovery: a combination of blunder and wit, where a person makes an error, and then saves themselves with a fast correction.

Repartee: an exchange of witty remarks that includes clever replies and retorts. The most common form is the insult.

Snowball Effect: the situation continuously worsens; but usually ends in a wrench, recovery, or understatement.

Tilt: any kind of absurd statement (sometimes called nonsense or nonsensism); a general observation or reference that lacks logic.

Understatement: making something that is regular or large seem extremely smaller or less; intentionally undercutting the rise of the
humor.

Wisecrack: employing sarcasm to make clever remarks or quick wordplays.

Wrench: a punchline in the form of a comic twist.