“Comedy lurks at secondary levels of meaning.”

Eric Idle of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, in an interview on National Public Radio, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, May 12, 2004.

The Sound SystemSome humor is based on our understanding of the rules and patterns of sound in our language.

Puns/Kid’s JokesQ. Why do seagulls live the by the sea? A. Because if they lived by the bay, they'd be bagels. Q. What do you get when you cross an elephant and a rhino?

A. Elephino!

The Lexicon

Humor may also be based on our knowledge of the meaning of words and possible ambiguities.

The Zen master at the hot dog stand

Q. What did the Zen master say to the guy at the hot dog stand?

A. Make me one with everything.

Accidental Humor- ambiguity

Retired teachers have no class. They also have no principals.

One of the important Saints is St. Andrew (in Spanish - San Andreas). The patron saint of generosity. In fact, people say he was generous to a fault.(What background info do you need to get this?)

This one is mixed: principals/principlesBut also: syntax: no class

adjective or noun?

Morphology - affixes

Some humor is based on our understanding of the rules of prefixes and suffixes - and what are prefixes and suffixes.

The SimpsonsIn an episode Homer uses medical marijuana for his eyes. Homer is hanging out with Otto- the bus driver, and they are both stoned and Otto says

"They call them fingers, but I've never seen them fing".

In a Washington Post contest readers supply

alternate meanings for various words.

Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon.

Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you.

At a party, a Mexican visitor was telling guests about himself. He said, "And I have a charming and understanding wife but, alas, no children."Listeners seemed confused so he said, "You see, my wife is unbearable."Puzzled glances prompted him to try to clarify: "What I mean is, my wife is inconceivable."As his companions seemed amused, he floundered deeper into the intricacies of the English language, explaining triumphantly, "That is, my wife, she is impregnable!"

Syntax - GrammarHumor may even be found in the organization of phrases in a sentence.

A pretty girl walked into a dress shop and said to the manager, “May I try on the dress in the window?”“Go ahead” , said the manager. “It might help business.”

Knight: Sire, the people are revolting!

Some fun with adjective/pres-part ambiguity. "Very" and similaradjectivals force the adjective reading.

King: Yes, … very.

From Jay Leno's headlines (Tonight Show Oct. 2004) The article was about a baseball player and the headline read:

"St. Martin's Johnson still growing."

Lexical ambiguity or sytntactic?

Semantics

This can include humor that plays with the expected meaning of utterances or violations of expected conversational practices.

Justice of the Peace (to bride at her wedding): Do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband in good times or in bad?

Bride (after brief pause): In good times.

Violates Grice’s Cooperative Principle

During a recent staff meeting in Heaven, God, Moses and St. Peter concluded that the behavior of ex-President Clinton necessitated an 11th commandment.

They worked long and hard to get the wording just right so it would have the same style and majesty as the original 10. After many revisions they finally agreed on:

“Thou shalt not comfort thy rod with thy staff.

A teenager lost a contact lens while playing basketball in his driveway. After a fruitless search, he told his mother the lens was nowhere to be found. Undaunted, she went outside and in a few minutes returned with the lens in her hand."How did you manage to find it, Mom?" the teenager asked."We weren't looking for the same thing," she replied. "You were looking for a small piece of plastic. I was looking for $150."

Sense and Reference

An elderly pastor, looking over his large congregation on Easter morning, startled them with this announcement: "My friends, realizing that I will not see many of you until next Easter, may I take this opportunity to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

Implicature

Why might this joke be difficult for a nonnative speaker of English?

Two clergymen were discussing the sad state of sexual morality. "I didn't sleep with my wife before we were married," one of them declared self-righteously. "Did you?"

"I'm not sure," said the other. "What was her maiden name?”

When do cannibals leave the table?

When everyone's eaten.

The first cannibal asked the 2nd cannibal, "Aren't you done eating yet?"

The 2nd cannibal replied, "I'm on the last leg now."

What did the cannibal get when he was late for dinner?

The cold shoulder.