humour
noun /ˈhjuːmə(r)/
/ˈhjuːmər/
(US English humor)
- [uncountable] the quality in something that makes it funny; the ability to laugh at things that are funny
- It was a story full of gentle humour.
- She ignored his feeble attempt at humour.
- They failed to see the humour of the situation.
- I can't stand people with no sense of humour.
- to have a dry/keen/wicked/wry sense of humour
- She smiled with a rare flash of humour.
- She has her very own brand of humour.
- The film is only funny if you appreciate French humour (= things that cause French people to laugh).
Culture humourhumourA sense of humour (NAmE humor), an ability to see the funny side of life, is considered essential by most British and American people. Everyone needs to be able to laugh at themselves sometimes, and to recognize that the situation they are in may look funny to others. It is considered a serious criticism of somebody to say that they have no sense of humour. When people are trying to meet other people, for example on an internet dating site, they often ask for possible partners to have a GSOH (good sense of humour).Some people have a dry sense of humour, and can keep a straight face (= not smile) and make their voice sound as though they are being serious when they are joking. Other people are said to be witty (= show a very clever type of humour). A person's sense of humour is influenced by many things, including family and social background and age.British and American humour on stage have some important differences, although the fact that some comedy television shows are popular in both countries shows that there is common ground. For example, American TV shows such as The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory are as popular in Britain as some of its own TV comedy shows. Sitcoms (= shows in which the humour comes from situations that the characters get into) often have a laugh track (= a recording of people laughing) so that the audience at home will know when things people say and do are meant to be funny. In many sitcoms gentle fun is made of ordinary life without the risk of causing anyone serious offence.American stage humour is more direct than British comedy. In the American series Parks and Recreation, for instance, the humour comes from characters behaving in stupid ways. But in the British comedy Fawlty Towers Basil Fawlty's funny characteristics are exaggerated versions of those found in the type of person he represents. David Brent's character in The Office is funny for the same reason. Slapstick comedy, which is based on people falling over, crashing into each other, etc. is now less popular in Britain.British comedy often makes use of irony, humour which depends on suggesting the opposite of what is actually expressed. Many novels, films, stage plays, etc. use irony, even when discussing serious subjects such as death. Popular humour may sometimes rely on double entendre (= using a phrase that can be understood in two ways, one of which is usually sexual) or on innuendo (= making an indirect suggestion of something rude). These were both used a lot in the popular series of Carry On films that began in the 1960s.Satire (= making people or institutions appear silly to show how stupid or bad they are) is an important element of popular British political comedy programmes. One of the most successful British comedy series, which also became popular in the US, was Monty Python's Flying Circus. It had a zany (= odd and silly) and satirical humour. Comic strips and cartoons, whether printed in newspapers, shown on television or the internet or made into films, are popular in both the US and Britain. Famous examples that started in the 1940s and 50s are Tom and Jerry and Peanuts. More recently, The Simpsons and Family Guy are very popular TV cartoons.Stand-up comedians perform on television or in clubs, telling gags (= jokes) and funny stories which end with a punchline, the part where the audience is supposed to laugh. Many comedians tell jokes that are funny because of sexual innuendo, and this is usually not considered suitable for family audiences. In Britain, common targets of comedians include politicians and British habits and customs. Observational humour makes observations about things people do in their everyday lives but have not noticed or discussed before.Many people tell jokes at school, at home and at the office. People may start a speech with a joke or funny story to help break the ice (= make people feel more relaxed).Children tell jokes that involve a play on words, such as knock-knock jokes or ‘What do you call …’ jokes, for example, ‘What do you call a man with a seagull on his head?’ ‘Cliff’.Adults sometimes tell jokes that make fun of common characteristics of people who do a particular job. For example, light bulb jokes suggest mistakes these people would make in trying to change a light bulb: ‘How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?’ - ‘None. The bulb will change itself when it is ready.’ Jokes about people from particular countries, people of a particular race, religion or gender, or people with disabilities are not acceptable.Practical jokes involve tricking people, and are not usually very popular, but on April Fool's Day (1 April) it is traditional for people to play practical jokes on each other. Newspapers often include a story that is not true hoping that some readers will believe it and then feel silly.Extra Examples- Whatever you do, don’t lose your sense of humour.
- Her speech was serious, but not without the occasional touch of humour.
- His colleagues soon got fed up with his schoolboy humour.
- The movie uses humour to make its points.
- The stories are full of humour.
- This movie takes crude gross-out humour to a new low.
- With wry humour, they laugh at their misfortunes.
- a television sitcom with its own peculiar brand of humour
- He has a good sense of humour.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- wry
- ironic
- tongue-in-cheek
- …
- touch
- be full of
- contain
- use
- …
- a brand of humour
- sense of humour
- [countable, uncountable] (formal) the state of your feelings or mind at a particular time
- to be in the best of humours
- The meeting dissolved in ill humour.
- out of humour to be out of humour (= in a bad mood)
- The remarks were made in good humour.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- good
- in (a) good humour
- [countable] (old use) one of the four liquids that were thought in the past to be in a person’s body and to influence health and character see also aqueous humour, vitreous humour
Word OriginMiddle English: via Old French from Latin humor ‘moisture’, from humere ‘be moist’. The original sense was ‘bodily fluid’ (surviving in aqueous humour and vitreous humour); it was used specifically for any of the cardinal humours (sense (3)), which led to the sense ‘mental disposition’ (thought to be caused by the relative proportions of the humours). This led, in the 16th cent., to the senses ‘mood’ (sense (2)) and ‘whim’, hence to humour someone ‘to indulge a person's whim’. Sense (1) dates from the late 16th cent.