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 act, e.g. Jimmy Carr,

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 f ...

Rodney Dangerfield Rodney Dangerfield (born Jacob Rodney Cohen; November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He was known for his self-deprecating one-liner humor, his catchphrase "I don't get no resp ...

, Norm Macdonald, Ken Dodd,

Stewart Francis Stewart Francis is a Canadian comedian, actor and writer. In addition to his work in Canada and the US, he frequently tours in the UK and appears on British television. Both of Francis' parents are British. Francis was born in Saint Joseph's ...

, Zach Galifianakis, Mitch Hedberg, Anthony Jeselnik, Milton Jones,

Shaparak Khorsandi Shaparak Khorsandi ( fa, شاپرک خرسندی, born 8 June 1973), formerly known as Shappi Khorsandi, is an Iranian-born British comedian and author. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family le ...

Jay London Jay London (born September 12, 1966) is an American stand-up comic, whose one-liner jokes made him a favorite on NBC's ''Last Comic Standing''. Although he did not win either of the two seasons in which he appeared (Seasons 2 and 3, both in 2004), ...

, Mark Linn-Baker, Demetri Martin,

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

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. He is known for delivering them in a slightly deadpan manner. Early life Gary Delaney received a degree in Economic ...

, Emo Philips, Tim Vine,

Steven Wright Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and film producer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jok ...

, Gilbert Gottfried, Mike Bocchetti, and Henny Youngman. Many fictional characters are also known to deliver one-liners, including James Bond, who usually includes pithy and laconic quips after disposing of a villain.

Examples

* "Never read a pop-up book about giraffes." ( Sean Lock) * "Throwing acid is wrong. In some people's eyes." ( Jimmy Carr) * "My girlfriend makes me want to be a better person - so I can get a better girlfriend." ( Anthony Jeselnik) * "Cricket. No matter who wins, both teams, and all the fans, are losers." ( Frankie Boyle) * "If life were easy, it wouldn’t be difficult." ( Kermit the Frog) * "An escalator cannot break, it can only become stairs." ( Mitch Hedberg) * "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, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

) * "I'm on a whiskey diet… I've lost three days already." (

) * "What Iran needs now is a more modern leader—a mullah lite." ( Shappi Khorsandi) * "I have nothing to declare except my genius." (

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

, upon arriving at US customs, 1882) * "Take my wife ... please." ( Henny Youngman) * "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) * "What a magnificent show this is going to be when it starts!" ( Ken Dodd) * "I have a girlfriend! I've been going out with my girlfriend for… sex!" (

) * "I have an L-shaped sofa… Lowercase." ( Demetri Martin) * "Crime in multi-story car parks is wrong on so many different levels." ( Tim Vine) * "My wife – it's difficult to say what she does. She sells seashells on the seashore." ( Milton Jones) * "In Scotland the forbidden fruit is fruit." (

) * "I collect books on minimalism." (

Brian Lister The Lister Motor Company Ltd. is a British sports car manufacturer founded by Brian Lister in 1954 in Cambridge, England, which became known for its involvement in motorsport. After buying the company in 1986, Laurence Pearce produced variants ...

)

References

External links

Humorous one-liners, quotations, last words, Murphy's Laws & more
{{Authority control Jokes Stand-up comedy

Examples

See also

References

External links