A one-liner is a
joke
A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with dialogue, ...
that is delivered in a single line. A good one-liner is said to be
pithy – concise and meaningful. Comedians and actors use this comedic method as part of their performance, and many fictional characters are also known to deliver one-liners, including
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
, who often makes pithy and laconic quips after disposing of a villain.
Examples
* "Never read a pop-up book about giraffes." (
Sean Lock
Sean Lock (22 April 1963 – 16 August 2021) was an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian and in 2000, he won the British Comedy Award, in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated fo ...
)
* "Throwing acid is wrong. In some people's eyes." (
Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is an Irish-British comedian, presenter, writer and actor. He is known for his rapid-fire deadpan delivery of One-line joke, one-liners. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regula ...
)
* "My girlfriend makes me want to be a better person - so I can get a better girlfriend." (
Anthony Jeselnik
Anthony Jeselnik ( ; born December 22, 1978) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is known for his dark comedy style, which emphasizes ironic misdirection, non sequiturs, biting insults, an arrogant demeanor, and a stage pe ...
)
* "Cricket. No matter who wins, both teams, and all the fans, are losers." (
Frankie Boyle
Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. Boyle first gained widespread recognition as a regular panellist on the comedy show '' Mock the Week'' from 2005 until 2009. He then created and starred in t ...
)
* "An escalator cannot break, it can only become stairs." (
Mitch Hedberg
Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 23, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes mixed with absurd elements and non s ...
)
* "My movies were the kind they show in prisons and airplanes, because nobody can leave." (
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...
)
* "I'm on a whiskey diet… I've lost three days already." (
Tommy Cooper
Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a Welsh prop comedian and magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at , and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He served in the British Army ...
)
* "I have nothing to declare except my genius." (
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
, upon arriving at US customs, 1882)
* "Take my wife ... please." (
Henny Youngman
Henry "Henny" Youngman (March 16, 1906 – February 24, 1998) was an English-born American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the "one-line joke, one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife... please".
In a time when many ...
)
* "They hired a 3-piece band that was so lousy, every time the waiter dropped a tray, we all got up and danced!" (
Les Dawson
Leslie Dawson (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and pianist. He was known for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona, musical routines, and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.
Early li ...
)
* "What a magnificent show this is going to be when it starts!" (
Ken Dodd
Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English stand-up comedy, comedian, actor and singer. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer" and was primarily known for his live stand-up comedy, stand-up pe ...
)
* "I have a girlfriend! I've been going out with my girlfriend for… sex!" (
Stewart Francis
Stewart Francis is a Canadian comedian, actor and writer. Known for his deadpan delivery of irreverent one-liners and humorous wordplay, Francis has toured worldwide as a stand up, particularly in the US, the UK, and in his native Canada. He ...
)
* "I have an L-shaped sofa… Lowercase." (
Demetri Martin
Demetri Martin (, ''Dimitrios Evangelos Martin''; born May 25, 1973) is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, cartoonist and musician. He was a contributor on ''The Daily Show''. In stand-up, he is known for his deadpan delivery, playing ...
)
* "Crime in multi-story car parks is wrong on so many different levels." (
Tim Vine
Timothy Mark Vine (born 4 March 1967) is an English comedian, actor, writer and presenter best known for his puns and other one-liners and his role on the TV sitcom '' Not Going Out'' (2006–2012, 2014). He has also released a number of stand- ...
)
* "My wife – it's difficult to say what she does. She sells seashells on the seashore." (
Milton Jones
Milton Hywel Jones (born 16 May 1964) is an English comedian. His style of humour is based on one-liners involving puns delivered in a deadpan and slightly neurotic style.
Career
Jones has had various shows on BBC Radio 4 and was a recurrin ...
)
* "In Scotland the forbidden fruit is fruit." (
Gary Delaney
Gary Delaney (born 16 April 1973) is an English writer and stand-up comedian. His style of humour is one-liners involving puns delivered in a deadpan manner.
Early life
Gary Delaney received a degree in Economics from the London School of Eco ...
)
* "Life is like a box of chocolates. It doesn’t last long if you’re fat." (
Joe Lycett
Joe Harry Lycett (born 1988), also known by the self-given moniker "Mummy", and officially self-renamed briefly as Hugo Boss in 2020, is a British comedian, television presenter, and painter. He has appeared on many TV shows, including '' Live ...
)
* "I was so ugly; my mother had morning sickness after I was born" (
Rodney Dangerfield
Jack Roy (born Jacob Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004), better known by the stage name Rodney Dangerfield, was an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-liner humor, ...
)
See also
*
Greguería
In Spanish and Latin American literature, a is a short statement, usually one sentence, in which the author expresses a philosophical, pragmatic, or humorous idea in a witty and original way. A ''greguería'' is roughly similar to an aphorism o ...
*
Paraprosdokian
A paraprosdokian (), or par'hyponoian, is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence, phrase, or larger discourse is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It ...
*
Throwaway line
In comedy, a throwaway line (also: throwaway joke or throwaway gag) is a joke delivered "in passing" without being the punch line to a comedy routine, part of the build up to another joke, or (in the context of drama) there to advance a story o ...
References
{{Authority control
Jokes
Stand-up comedy