A running gag, or running joke, is a

literary device A narrative technique (also, in fiction, a fictional device) is any of several storytelling methods the creator of a story uses, thus effectively relaying information to the audience or making the story more complete, complex, or engaging. Some ...

that takes the form of an amusing

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, ...

or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

or other form of

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

. Though they are similar,

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s are not considered to be running gags. Running gags can begin with an instance of unintentional humor that is repeated in variations as the joke grows familiar and

audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

s anticipate reappearances of the gag. The humor in a running gag may derive entirely from how often it is repeated, but the underlying statement or situation will always be some form of joke. A trivial statement will not become a running gag simply by being repeated. A running gag may also derive its humor from the (in)appropriateness of the situation in which it occurs, or by setting up the audience to expect another occurrence of the joke and then substituting something else (''

bait and switch Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud used in retail sales but also employed in other contexts. First, the merchant "baits" the customer by advertising a product or service at a low price; then when the customer goes to purchase the item, they disco ...

''). Running gags are found in everyday life, live theater, live comedy, television shows,

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

s, and potentially any other situation in which humor is possible and there is enough time for the repetitions to happen. A running gag can be verbal or visual and may "convey social values by echoing belligerent speakers with a barrage of caricatured threats". For example, a character may present others with a proposition that is so ridiculous or outrageous it is likely to be self-mocking to the point where the original request has little or no chance of actually being carried out and results in a humorous effect.

References

{{reflist, refs= "The running gag, a staple of broad comedy, depends on the watcher's reference to the passage of time".{{cite book , last=Byron , first=Mark S , title=Samuel Beckett's Endgame , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ARC8ZqHWJWQC&q=%22running+gag%22&pg=PA82 , isbn=978-90-420-2288-1 , year=2007 , publisher=Editions Rodopi B.V , page=82 "The running gag has long been recognised as a standard ingredient of slapstick comedy ..." {{cite book , last=Beaver , first=Frank Eugene , publisher=Peter Lang Publishing Inc. , year=2007 , isbn=978-0-8204-7298-0 , title=Dictionary of film terms: the aesthetic companion to film art , url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoffilm0000beav , url-access=registration , pag
207
} In-jokes Narrative techniques

See also

References