Just joking! – vocabulary
If you hear ‘Do you know the one about…..?’ or ‘Have you heard the one about…..?’ you can expect a joke. You will notice there is no need to put the word ‘joke’ in – this is assumed.
There are other stock phrases which announce a joke: A Scotsman, an Irishman and an Englishman …..’ is one. Here you can expect different jokes to be made about national stereotypes, but it can also be adapted to regional types – ‘a Welshman, a Yorkshireman and a Geordie …….’ or any other group of three people. Some of these can become politically incorrect i.e. unacceptable. What happens if stand-up comedians include some of these is that audiences hiss or boo when a joke is told which is considered to perpetuate a prejudice – an anti-women / anti-men or anti-Irish joke, for instance. It is often the case that if this happens the comedian may have cut certain types of jokes out of his/ her script by the second half of his / her programme. At the same time, it is very regrettable if people can never laugh at themselves or others, and on occasions in Britain people can see or take offence where it does not exist or where no malice is intended.
A black joke is one which is a bit close to the bone in terms of subject – it might deal with death or illness.
A sick joke deals with an unpleasant or upsetting topic in an offensive way. Where different cultures (and generations) draw the line in matters of humour and sensitivity varies a great deal – so this is a tricky area. Sometimes the joke itself can be very amusing, so people’s reactions to it can vary enormously, but you might hear someone say ‘oh, that’s a bit sick!’ as a mild protest or comment.
A punchline is the culmination of a joke or story providing the humour or climax. Sometimes you’ll hear someone say "I’ve forgotten the punchline!", just as people are waiting for the funny ending.
Try the quiz on the vocabulary of jokes