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Dry humor
- Dry humor is a unique style of comedy that is characterized by its subtle and understated nature. It often involves delivering jokes or funny statements in a deadpan manner, with little to no emotional expression.
www.sidesplitterscomedy.com › understanding-dry-humor-is-it-for-everyoneUnderstanding Dry Humor: Is it for Everyone? - Sidesplitters
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4 days ago · The subtle humour and gradual accumulation of detail and emotion build intensity into a perfectly judged ending.
- Overview
- The logic of laughter
humour, communication in which the stimulus produces amusement.
In all its many-splendoured varieties, humour can be simply defined as a type of stimulation that tends to elicit the laughter reflex. Spontaneous laughter is a motor reflex produced by the coordinated contraction of 15 facial muscles in a stereotyped pattern and accompanied by altered breathing. Electrical stimulation of the main lifting muscle of the upper lip, the zygomatic major, with currents of varying intensity produces facial expressions ranging from the faint smile through the broad grin to the contortions typical of explosive laughter.
The laughter and smile of civilized man is, of course, often of a conventional kind, in which voluntary intent substitutes for, or interferes with, spontaneous reflex activity; this article is concerned, however, only with the latter. Once laughter is realized to be a humble reflex, several paradoxes must be faced. Motor reflexes, such as the contraction of the pupil of the eye in dazzling light, are simple responses to simple stimuli whose value to survival is obvious. But the involuntary contraction of 15 facial muscles, associated with certain irrepressible noises, strikes one as an activity without any utilitarian value, quite unrelated to the struggle for survival. Laughter is a reflex but unique in that it has no apparent biological purpose. One might call it a luxury reflex. Its only function seems to be to provide relief from tension.
The second related paradox is a striking discrepancy between the nature of the stimulus and that of the response in humorous transactions. When a blow beneath the kneecap causes an automatic upward kick, both “stimulus” and “response” function on the same primitive physiological level, without requiring the intervention of the higher mental functions. But that such a complex mental activity as reading a comic story should cause a specific reflex contraction of the facial muscles is a phenomenon that has puzzled philosophers since Plato. There is no clear-cut, predictable response that would tell a lecturer whether he has succeeded in convincing his listeners; but, when he is telling a joke, laughter serves as an experimental test. Humour is the only form of communication in which a stimulus on a high level of complexity produces a stereotyped, predictable response on the physiological reflex level. Thus the response can be used as an indicator for the presence of the elusive quality that is called humour—as the click of the Geiger counter is used to indicate the presence of radioactivity. Such a procedure is not possible in any other form of art; and, since the step from the sublime to the ridiculous is reversible, the study of humour provides clues for the study of creativity in general.
The range of laughter-provoking experiences is enormous, from physical tickling to mental titillations of the most varied kinds. There is unity in this variety, however, a common denominator of a specific and specifiable pattern that reflects the “logic” or “grammar” of humour, as it were. A few examples will help to unravel that pattern.
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•1. A masochist is a person who likes a cold shower in the morning so he takes a hot one.
•2. An English lady, on being asked by a friend what she thought of her departed husband’s whereabouts: “Well, I suppose the poor soul is enjoying eternal bliss, but I wish you wouldn’t talk about such unpleasant subjects.”
•3. A doctor comforts his patient: “You have a very serious disease. Of 10 persons who catch it, only one survives. It is lucky you came to me, for I have recently had nine patients with this disease and they all died of it.”
Defining Dry Humor. Dry humor is a unique style of comedy that is characterized by its subtle and understated nature. It often involves delivering jokes or funny statements in a deadpan manner, with little to no emotional expression.
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- Physical or Slapstick Humor. This is probably the easiest one to explain. It is a physical kind of humor. This means someone is using exaggerated or wild body movements.
- Self-Deprecating Humor. When someone is a master (or really good) at self-deprecating humor it means they are good at putting themselves down or making fun of themselves on purpose to amuse others.
- Surreal or Absurd Humor. This is the kind of humor one can spot in the story (or movie) “Alice in Wonderland”. It takes the world and flips it upside dow.
- Improvisation or Improv Humor. Improv is a form of live theatre where everything is made up on the spot. It is quite a difficult thing to pull off comedy in the moment or on the spot, but often times that awkwardness is what makes it funny.
- Laugh-at-life humor. Your profile probably says, “I don’t take myself too seriously.” When something bad happens, you’re likely to take a deep breath and look for the absurd in the situation — and then laugh about it.
- Bonding-in-the-moment humor. “We’re in this together, and isn’t it fun?” is your general outlook. You’re the type to crack a joke at just the right moment or toss a witty, lighthearted remark into a conversation before it turns too serious.
- Slapstick comedy. You think "Airplane" was the best movie ever made. Charlie Chaplin and the Three Stooges are classics in your book. Slapstick comedy relies on physical humor, pranks and absurd situations for laughs.
- Sarcasm: Bitter much? Your sense of humor is dark, biting and sharp. The Daily Show is on your list of favorite programs. Be careful with the way you word your profile and emails, because sarcasm can come off as unnecessarily harsh without the benefit of tone of voice and facial expressions to soften the delivery.
Mar 21, 2024 · Humorous Tone Words – 66 Examples & Definitions. Humor, when woven skillfully into your writing, can elevate your content from good to unforgettable. Today, we dive into the technique of humorous tone words, a proven method to make every word count and leave a lasting impression on your readers.
Jun 9, 2023 · A dry sense of humor relies on subtlety and wit. A goofy performance doesn’t accompany a dryly told joke. You won't chuckle as you say it to signal that you are joking. In fact, some people won't grasp that you were joking. The humor emerges from the words themselves.
