Glossary of Comedy Lingo

[Petey Pate]

I know Neil hates list threads but I thought this might actually be a fruitful endeavour for comedy fans. There may be a lot of overlap with general show business terms but I've been trying to think of ones that are comedy specific.

Working blue: Employing risque humour and swear words in a comedy act. Not sure if this is widely used anymore but the etymology of 'blue humour' dates back to the nineteenth century.

Solid/strong five: A stand-up comedy set that can be performed in five minutes.

Laying pipe: This is US sitcom writer talk for exposition, so anything in a script, not necessarily a joke, that advances the narrative.

[rasta-spouse]

Ten minutes till we Exhume Moloney: a Stewart Lee influenced twentysomething stand-up looks like he's losing faith in his wafer-thin material live on stage.

[Delete Delete Delete]

Woofer As said by Danny Jihn Jules in The Red Dwarf commentries. A Joke that gets a huge laugh from the audience.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Laying pipe: This is US sitcom writer talk for exposition, so anything in a script, not necessarily a joke, that advances the narrative.

I thought it was a euphemism for sex.

[rasta-spouse]

a panchen lama - a dry one-liner comic, sporting the baggy look, who has a mysterious past

[Norton Canes]

Laughing the joke in

[magval]

Anyone remember who it was who wrote a great blog post about this? It might have been one of the Rule of Three guys or an associate of theirs.

[zomgmouse]

Fart joke - a joke about a fart

[Utter Shit]

Woofer As said by Danny Jihn Jules in The Red Dwarf commentries. A Joke that gets a huge laugh from the audience.

Also known as a wendy.

[gilbertharding]

I thought it was a euphemism for sex.

You're thinking of Casting Churchill's Reflection.

[neveragain]

Freddy Feed - another one from the Red Dwarf commentaries (probably well-known among actors); a self-referencing term of disappointment and derision used when the script ensures you don't get any laughs.

[rasta-spouse]

A Chimp's Paw - a joke which won't work unless at least 30% of your audience are active sex offenders (J. Vegas Live in Benidorm)

[Tony Tony Tony]

Hammocking - Slinging a bit of weaker material between two stronger pieces in an effort to make it stand up.

[Brundle-Fly]

A tight five. The club promotor's requirement for the duration of a newcomer's open spot routine to come in at the allotted time.

[Dusty Substance]

Bicycle gag - Person: "You'll never, ever see me riding a bike" - Quick cut to Person riding a bike. As mentioned by everyone's favourite transphobe on the Father Ted commentary (but I can't recall which Ted moment he was referring to but it wasn't a literal bike).

[easytarget]

Searching for hat on a hat turned up this excellent "How to talk Comedy Writer" http://misterandyriley.com/2016/10/31/how-to-talk-comedy-writer-updated/
It has loads of great examples for this thread. And the anecdote about adding "compo bursts puppy with cock" to the cards in the writing room for LotSW.

[Mobius]

Chutney – stuff that characters are saying in the background, which you don't normally add into the script until very late because it's not material which needs jokes. Writing for Veep, chutney often takes the form of perfectly serviceable political speeches, while the real funny material is going on amongst other characters in the foreground. I don't know if this term exists outside the Veep/Thick Of It writing team.

Chutney comes up quite a few times in The Thick Of It, no wonder!

[Twit 2]

Searching for hat on a hat turned up this excellent "How to talk Comedy Writer" http://misterandyriley.com/2016/10/31/how-to-talk-comedy-writer-updated/
It has loads of great examples for this thread. And the anecdote about adding "compo bursts puppy with cock" to the cards in the writing room for LotSW.

Great link, cheers.

[magval]

Aye, that's the one I was on about upthread, nice one.

[madhair60]

Bicycle gag - Person: "You'll never, ever see me riding a bike" - Quick cut to Person riding a bike. As mentioned by everyone's favourite transphobe on the Father Ted commentary (but I can't recall which Ted moment he was referring to but it wasn't a literal bike).

I've heard this called a Gilligan Cut but I forget where

[Sebastian Cobb]

The bicycle gag is proper 'My expectations were confounded and from thence the humor arose' lazy comedy slag stuff.

[Misspent Boners]

slack bladder -derogatory terms for a comedian who has to rush offstage halfway through his set to piss wee out of his willy before running back on acting like nothing happened

[Petey Pate]

Searching for hat on a hat turned up this excellent "How to talk Comedy Writer" http://misterandyriley.com/2016/10/31/how-to-talk-comedy-writer-updated/
It has loads of great examples for this thread. And the anecdote about adding "compo bursts puppy with cock" to the cards in the writing room for LotSW.

Brilliant blog, exactly what I had in mind, thanks a lot!

The bicycle gag is proper 'My expectations were confounded and from thence the humor arose' lazy comedy slag stuff.

Family Guy did a decent subversion of it. As I remember it, Peter says 'there is no chance I am getting on that plane'. It then cuts to Peter in the same place saying 'see, I'm still here'.

[Andy147]

I've heard this called a Gilligan Cut but I forget where

TV Tropes calls it that. The file linked elsewhere also gives it as the American name.

[zomgmouse]

Fart joke - a joke about a fart

Sorry, just realised I need to amend this:

Fart joke - a joke about - or involving - a fart

Or actually:

Fart joke - a joke about - and/or involving - a fart



Thanks for your time. Hope this has proven useful.

[zomgmouse]

"Daddy's baby now!". This one came to me in a dream in a dream in which John Cleese was talking about coming up with this term after strolling with his father in the town where Cleese grew up and his father offering to buy him a tart that he enjoyed as a child upon which Cleese blew up and said "I'M AN ADULT NOW! HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF I TREATED YOU AS A CHILD!" and proceeded to stuff the tart in his dad's mouth yelling "DADDY'S BABY NOW!". This trope refers to when grown adult characters are either a) infantilised by their parents/other adults, or b) when grown adult characters start acting as children. "Daddy's baby now!!!". It's interesting to think about this in the comedy world as well as what the fuck this says about my subconscious.

[KennyMonster]

"Daddy's baby now!". This one came to me in a dream in a dream in which John Cleese was talking about coming up with this term after strolling with his father in the town where Cleese grew up and his father offering to buy him a tart that he enjoyed as a child upon which Cleese blew up and said "I'M AN ADULT NOW! HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF I TREATED YOU AS A CHILD!" and proceeded to stuff the tart in his dad's mouth yelling "DADDY'S BABY NOW!". This trope refers to when grown adult characters are either a) infantilised by their parents/other adults, or b) when grown adult characters start acting as children. "Daddy's baby now!!!". It's interesting to think about this in the comedy world as well as what the fuck this says about my subconscious.

[Autopsy Turvey]

http://sotcaa.org/history/ukonline/comment/glossary.html