ESL Podcast 979 - Types of Humor

sitcom - a situation comedy; a television show with a single group of characters in a different situation each week, designed to be funny and entertain people

Friends and Seinfeld are two of my favorite sitcoms.

witty - clever, funny, and intelligent

Matt is so witty, always saying things about current events that make the people around him laugh.

humor - things that make people laugh; things that are funny

I was just joking! Don't you have a sense of humor?

highbrow - acting superior to others, especially more intelligent or sophisticated

Five-course meals and highbrow restaurants are fine, but every once in a while, it's nice to just eat a hot dog.

joke - a short story or a question and answer that is told to make people laugh

Did you hear the joke about why the chicken crossed the road?

comedy - a genre or category of movies, shows, and plays that entertain people and make the audience laugh

The new movie is a cute comedy, but it didn't make me laugh out loud.

screwball - goofy, silly, and irresponsible

If the managers catch Yvonne doing any more screwball reports like that last one, she could lose her job!

slapstick - physical comedy, such as slipping on a banana peel; the use of absurd physical actions to make people laugh, especially in a movie, show, or play

They're trying to sell window cleaner through slapstick comedy, like showing someone walking into a window that's so clean nobody can see it.

juvenile - immature; for children, not for adults

Some people might think playing dodgeball is juvenile, but Jacques has always loved that game.

satire - a type of humor that copies or exaggerates something else to make fun of it, sometimes in a mean way, in order to make people laugh or think about something in a new way

The play is a satire of the American healthcare system.

wacky - crazy and unexpected; weird and unpredictable

The chef is trying some wacky combinations, like fish with strawberries, and ice cream with green beans.

to get off (one's) high horse - to stop acting superior; to stop thinking that one is better than other people

When Nolan lost his job, he had to get off his high horse and ask for help.

snooty - snobby; very proud and a little bit mean to others; stuck up

Jo is snooty toward anyone who doesn't make as much money as she does.

discriminating - picky; choosy; wanting and selecting only certain characteristics in something

This wine is expensive, but it will please even the most discriminating taster.

dry sense of humor - an ability to produce or appreciate intellectual humor where the funny story or joke is told in a serious, quiet way and the listener has to think to realize why something is funny

Do you prefer outlandish comics, or ones with a dry sense of humor?

self-deprecating - saying bad things about oneself, undervaluing one's abilities, or saying that one is not good or important, often used for humor

Even though Geoff makes a lot of self-deprecating comments, he actually has very high self-esteem.

snoozefest - something that is very boring and uninteresting and makes people want to fall asleep

This seminar is a snoozefest. We've been here for three hours and we still haven't heard anything we didn't already know before.

to bore (someone) to death - to be very boring; to be very uninteresting

That speaker bore us to death with all of those statistics!

to do it for (someone) - to meet someone's needs; to satisfy someone; to give someone what he or she is looking for; to make someone feel content

What do you do to relax? Does a massage really do it for you?

there's no accounting for taste - a phrase meaning that one dislikes with what another person likes, but accepts that people are different and believes their preferences cannot be explained

Cayden painted their living room bright orange and dark green. I think it's ugly, but he loves it. There's no accounting for taste.