An Exploration of the world of Humour
The funniest collection on the web, so sit back, have a good laugh and discover what you find funny.
My thesaurus offers the following alternatives to "humour":
Amusement,
Banter,
Buffoonery,
Burlesque,
Caricature,
Comedy,
Crack,
Entertainment,
Facetiousness,
Farce,
Fun,
Funniness,
Gag,
Irony,
Jest,
Jibe,
Joke,
Kid,
Knock,
Lampoon,
Merriment,
Mock,
Mockery,
Needle,
Parody,
Prank,
Quip,
Rib,
Ridicule,
Roast,
Sarcasm,
Satire,
Silly,
Small Talk,
Spoof,
Takeoff,
Tease,
Travesty,
Wisecrack,
Wit,
Witticism
Humour is defined by the OED as:
- "the quality of being funny";
- sense of humour is "the ability to appreciate or express that which is funny";
- "situations, speech or writings that are thought to be humorous";
- "a state of mind, temper or mood (as in ill humour, good humour)";
- "temperament or disposition";
- "a caprice or a whim";
- "any of various bodily fluids (especially the aqueous humour and the vireous humour)".
(and other less interesting definitions.)
What Makes YOU Laugh?
This small corner of the World Wide Wait is designed to help you answer that question. If you need more questions answered, then you will have to read the FAQ.
Once you have read the examples in the pop-up window, simply close the window to return to this stunning page!
Amusement
Sufficient to amuse is not sufficient to hold our interest for long. Here is an amusing example.
Banter
A mild form of mickey-taking, significant in that it tends to go on and on
Buffoonery
Totally ridiculous. We teach children the alphabet phonetically. But phonetic is not spelt the way it sounds - so why not derive a complete alphabet that is totally NOT phonetic - the " Non-phonetic Alphabet". The only trouble is that we got a bit stuck for some of the letters.
Burlesque
A ludicrous imitation. An all time favourite is the foreign phrase book for
motorists in Germany.
Not
that all humour is really old - but my dad had a similar copy of this in the
late 1950's!
Caricature
Caricatures can be created on many aspects of our personal prejudices. Perhaps the commonest prejudice is the difference between men and women. So whether you are prejudiced against men or against women we can offer something to reinforce it.
Comedy
The ability of people from all walks of life to introduce humour into the most mundane of situations is an admirable characteristic. The reporting and clearing of faults on aircraft is not a subject where anyone would expect the introduction of comedy. This small collection demonstrates the innovative comedy of the aircraft fitter.
Crack
Even in the most serious of situations, when a wrong move could spell disaster, there is always an opportunity for humour. A crack ends the exchange, diffuses the situation and leaves everyone (well almost everyone) rolling on the floor in stitches. A serious exchange of views between the American Navy and the Canadians leaves someone with more than a little egg on their face when the crack is delivered.
Entertainment
There was an entertainer in the fifties (whose name I have forgotten) that used to read this letter about an Irish building site worker who had an accident with a barrel of bricks.
Facetiousness
Get tired of all those Questionaires? Try this one, with plenty of options for those that are indecisive.
Farce
There are times when you have to wonder how professional a professional is. This collection of true Newspaper Headlines demonstrates that the professional writer's command of the English Language can sometimes be a complete farce.
Fun
There was a time when people in the UK put little signs on the back of their cars (The Americans call them bumper stickers). So we had some fun making up our own versions of "windsurfers do it standing up".
Funniness
If the jokes themselves weren't that funny, then it was the funniness of the man that made Tommy Coopers act such a classic. If he were still alive, here is some material he might have used. You just have to imagine him saying it....
Gags
A gag is a small joke, such as this news report of Ireland's worst plane disaster.
Irony
Often mistaken for bad temper, irony can be as funny as other types of humour. It just needs to be used in the right place at the right time. On an examination paper is not where you would expect it.
Jest
The seasoned jester never misses an opportunity for a joke. A discussion on the meaning of "Ging Gan Goolie," (as sung by scouts) prompted Martin E. Kenny (a real jester and wag) to provide this letter explaining his research into Mr. Goolie
Jibe
Generally speaking, you can laugh at yourself or you can laugh with the other people (as Spike Milligan once said). Occasionally there is enough humour in someone's reported inability's for it to be funny.
Joke
Although jokes are much better told than written down, here is our own joke of the week. Check back regularly for more jokes!
Kid
We all love to kid around - and we all love kids as well (I went to school with loads of them). Here is a letter from an Irish mother to her kid son in America. We could tell you it is a true letter, but we would only be kidding.
Knock
Knockers are very much frowned upon in these politically correct days.
Imagine what would have happened in days gone by, if political correctness had
dominated our lives. Well, for a start, Lord Baden-Powell would not have been
allowed to write a book called "Scouting for Boys".
Has political correctness
gone too far? Judge for yourself in "Yellow Pigmented Follicles and the Three
Ursus" - a politically corrected fairy story.
Lampoon
By careful and diligent misinterpretation, it is possible to produce a simple lampoon (or satirical parody) of a Medical Dictionary.
Merriment
You can come across humour in the most unlikely of circumstances. We have all seen the road sign that says "Slow Children" and we accept what it says. If you take the sign out of context, then it could mean that the children are slow. Take a strong sense of humour, some signs out of context and you won't need a drink to fall on the floor laughing.
Mock
This list of mock collective nouns was the first collections of humorous items that we made.
Mockery
Most of the time, mockery is merely embarassing, rather than funny. However, if you laugh at your self, the world laughs with you. The helpful grammatical advice for writers is a fine example of self-mockery. It was even used as a spoof contribution at a certain international standards meeting.
Needle
Does it Needle you to see English abused? Are you disappointed in your linguistic abilities with foreign languages? Take heart! There is always someone, somewhere, with a lower level of linguistic ability, as these foreign helpful notices, translated to English clearly demonstrate.
Parody
Really funny people can apply humour to almost anything. When we saw the guide to safe fax, a parody of a safe sex guide, we had to have it.
Prank
A small prank from days gone by. Among the many computer operating systems, the Unix operating system was developed for multiple users to share one computer. Universities used them in the seventies and eighties, and the Linux operating system is a Unix flavour. By playing with the command line interpreter, students found they could extract humour from the error messages.
Quip
A quip is a witty or clever saying, sometimes used as in a sarcastic way as a cutting remark. This broadcast on American Radio provides the most definitive example of a quip that we could find.
Rib
Seeing this clipping from a newspaper about a new church window, it was not hard to imagine the ribbing that the vicar, the chrurch wardens and the entire congregation are likely to suffer.
Ridicule
There are some things that just cannot be ridiculed. Even Santa, his reindeer and his sleigh. Note: The executable file is believed to be free of any virus, and there is no attempt to be malicious by us. However, you should ensure that you have the latest virus protection software.
Roast
Ever made a silly mistake on an examination paper? Thankfully, someone managed to make a small collection of some of the student bloopers.
Sarcasm
Student life is one of study, dedication, self-motivation and an incredible will power that enables the student to undergo long periods with little or no sleep in a bid to complete an education that will surely make him or her one of the Three Wise Monkeys?
Satire
A satirical look at the world of support groups is provided by the NSPCDH
Silly
Religion is a serious business, not to be scoffed at. Willing volunteers write the Church Notices, but it is silly never to read what you have written.
Small talk
Small talk (my thesaurus offers it as a replacement word for humour) is the ideal excuse to quote some of those advertisements that you see in the back of newspapers. The public has its chance to make a fool of itself!
Spoof
There have been a number of well known spoofs, from the
BBC Panorama programme on the failure of the Spaghetti crop (early 1960's and
in B&W), through the university students who constructed flying saucers, to
the famous dog that drove a car
Now you can be part of the Spoofing era. Send this short message and the pop
up picture to friends anywhere:
- I have managed to get hold of a few hundred new, trendy state of the art hands free kits for mobile phones. Most are for Nokia phones, but there is a large mixture. They are also free, so if you want one, just give me a shout and tell me for which type of phone
Here is a photo for you to check out the kits, I think you are going to like them!
Takeoff
Have you ever struggled with upgrading applications or software, and found incompatibilities? This is a brilliant takeoff of software applications, as the anonymous author struggles with upgrading Girlfriend 1.0
Tease
How logical are you? Do thoroughly read everything, or do you (like my Mother-in-law) miss out the odd word as you go along? Tease yourself with this baffling quiz containing unbelievably simple answers that you will struggle to find.
Travesty
The English Language has often been abused in the articles and clippings referenced in this page. But this collection of warnings are not just a travesty of the English Language, but the some of the most pointless pieces of advice ever to have been issued.
Wisecrack
The only difference between a great wit and the rest of us is timing. It is easy to be wise after the event, to be really great you have to think of these one line wisecracks at the time.
Wit
One of the famous great Wits of the 19th Century was the university professor, the Reverend Spooner who first hit upon the wit of exchanging the first consonant of two words, when he stood up to make a toast to the "dear old Queen," and accidentally requested a toast to "the queer old dean!" Whilst there are many examples, he reputedly said this to a delinquent student:
"You've tasted two whole worms. You've hissed all my mystery lectures, and been caught fighting a liar in the quad. You will leave Oxford tonight by the first town drain."
The Knutty Knights are far from the only people to enjoy the wit of the Speverend Rooner
Witticism.
All good things come to an end - as I often tell my wife. "Yes but not this quickly" she retorts. One of the last dates in the year that we all look forward to is Christmas. It comes but once a year (and a jolly good job too!), so what better subject to leave you with. Reprinted from a 1989 company newsletter, here is another Knutty Knights original witticism - 10 family games for Christmas
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If you have enjoyed this page and its little counter, then we are the Knutty Knights . . . . . . . . . . If you feel your visit here was totally wasted, our real name is Norman Cobley