comic relief
noun
: a relief from the emotional tension especially of a drama that is provided by the interposition of a comic episode or element
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web They’re joined by Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi), a technology contractor, atheist and gizmo genius who often provides comic relief. 
Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 5 June 2022 But amid the turmoil Thursday stood Gómez Llata — front and center — providing updates on the situation with a bellow and a bit of comic relief. Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2022 Comic-Con comic relief: L.A. media agency account director Jason Croddy, who first came to San Diego Comic-Con in 1996, created his own T-shirt paying homage to his celebrity crush, actor Paul Rudd. San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2022 Now, instead of waiting for Netflix to drop the latest hourlong comedy special or saving up money to score tickets to a standup show, comic relief is at your fingers. Amy Haneline, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2022 Once known as brooding heartthrob Nate Archibald in Gossip Girl, Crawford is now the somewhat unlikely source of both comic relief and a perverse kind of pathos on The Boys. Nojan Aminosharei, Men's Health, 24 June 2022 Taika Waititi voices an incompetent boob who has a knack for conveniently screwing things up when the plot requires it, and is less a character than a delivery service for the actor-director’s wacky, eccentric comic relief. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 June 2022 Consciously or not, Monday’s live broadcast wove comic relief into a larger narrative of powerful men behaving badly and once again showed that the hearings are a far cry from the usual political theater. Lorraine Alitelevision Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2022 But others of the creator’s tricks fail him, like a tendency to lean hard on the quirkiness of bit players studded through the story, seemingly intended as a sort of comic relief that doesn’t consistently land. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 11 May 2022 See More
Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 5 June 2022 But amid the turmoil Thursday stood Gómez Llata — front and center — providing updates on the situation with a bellow and a bit of comic relief. Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2022 Comic-Con comic relief: L.A. media agency account director Jason Croddy, who first came to San Diego Comic-Con in 1996, created his own T-shirt paying homage to his celebrity crush, actor Paul Rudd. San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2022 Now, instead of waiting for Netflix to drop the latest hourlong comedy special or saving up money to score tickets to a standup show, comic relief is at your fingers. Amy Haneline, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2022 Once known as brooding heartthrob Nate Archibald in Gossip Girl, Crawford is now the somewhat unlikely source of both comic relief and a perverse kind of pathos on The Boys. Nojan Aminosharei, Men's Health, 24 June 2022 Taika Waititi voices an incompetent boob who has a knack for conveniently screwing things up when the plot requires it, and is less a character than a delivery service for the actor-director’s wacky, eccentric comic relief. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 June 2022 Consciously or not, Monday’s live broadcast wove comic relief into a larger narrative of powerful men behaving badly and once again showed that the hearings are a far cry from the usual political theater. Lorraine Alitelevision Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2022 But others of the creator’s tricks fail him, like a tendency to lean hard on the quirkiness of bit players studded through the story, seemingly intended as a sort of comic relief that doesn’t consistently land. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 11 May 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1783, in the meaning defined above