The Art Of Using Humour :)

On yet another service anniversary and freedom from 'bond'age...got reminded of the training days, sleeping in the bus as well as in the class;  the presentations &  assessments, not forgetting the outbound and the cultural program. Browsing through the old files, found this little piece I had presented.

The Serious Study of Humor (A-Z):Humor is a skill, too serious to be taken lightly!

ANTONYMISM - contrasts 2 words of opposite meaning e.g. "There is no end 2 laws n no beginning 2 d execution of them". ( Mark Twain)

BLUNDER - derives punch from failure 2 observe i.e. mistaken identity/situational/ typographical.. e.g. "The doctor returned from his trip n will take up his cuties at hospital".

CATCH-TALE - deceives d reader by implying a catchy end & providing sudden trivial denouncement.

CHAIN - is based on a series of things linked together
1) Blunting - is used to break a good news instead of a dire 1. Evolved from d classic Greek dramas under the name 'amblysia'. E.g. After flunking in UML assessment, overheard sum1 saying - 'the biggest fool can ask more ques than d greatest genius can answer'. (Inspired by JS :D )
2) Cumulative humor - Written in cont. pattern e.g. d classic Eng. poem - 'For want of a nail....d kingdom was lost !'
3) Pendulum story - depicts back n forth motion b/w an opinion.

CONFUCIAN SAYING - swept America in 1938-40 by transforming well-known Epigrams into Pidgin English. 'Confucius says: girl with future beware of man with past'

CONUNDRUM/GAG - is a conversation d answer to which is a pun e.g. 'Why does a cow wear a bell ? Coz, it's horns don't work !'

EXTENDED PROVERB - is a clever tag is attached e.g. 'Talk is cheap except wen u hire a lawyer'

EPIGRAM - is a short n clever sayings dealing with follies of mankind
1) Adviser - is rooted in d basic human foible, d all-too-human tendency to give uncalled counsel with a punch e.g. 'Advice 2 people about 2 marry:DON'T'
2) Bonmot - is a pithy saying that may b serious @ times e.g. 'V don't get ulcers from what v eat, but from what is eating us'
3) Nonsenism - means fallacies w/o rhyme or reason e.g. 'If monkeys wore socks on hind legs would it b gloves?'

EXAGGERISM - refers 2 overstating certain peculiarities
1) Caricature - is a distortion of physical/mental/personality traits
2) Hyperbole - shows extravagance e.g. 'As many troubles as there b stars in heaven'
3) Tall-tale - is a nonsensical exaggeration say 'The Maddy Story' of our Etiquette training class ! Never mind dear :)

FOOL'S QUERY - is a silly ques where d answer is more courteous than bitter, typically what is asked @ d end of each presentation :) (d reply in a form of irony is called 'asteism').

FREUDIAN SLIP - is an accidental statement named after d psychiatrist 'Freud'
1) Boner - is a short n pointed reply e.g.
'Teacher: Name a by-product of raising cattle ?
Student : Calves'
2) Bonehead - is a headline boner showing a grammatical misconstruction e.g. Read in newspaper - 'MAN REFUSES 2 GIVE UP BITING DOG'
3) Goldynism - is based on verbal error, named after movie-man Samuel Goldwyn. E.g. 'That movie is terrible, don't fail 2 miss it !'
4) Malapropism - is derived from d French word mal-a-pop means out-of-place, named after Mrs. Malaprop, a character in d play by Sheridan, where she is accused of using words she doesn't understand.

LITTLE WILLIE - is a comic verse evolved from 'Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes' by Harry Graham in 1899. It led to d popular expression '2 give one d willies' implying making one nervous.

REPARTEE - 'Something we think 24 hrs. too late '. (Mark Twain)

REPEATISM- refers 2 duplication of words e.g. 'There is more than shore 2 c on a sea-shore'.

TWIST TALE - is skillful distortion of a popular expression, d antithesis of 'blunder'.

UNDERSTATEMENT - refers 2 anything that doesn't measure up to the standard of size, degree, intensity e.g. 'Fascination of shooting depends on whether u r @ d rt. or d wrong side of d gun'.

WIT - is a mode of expression using irony, sarcasm or satire. Dr. Javis says "Humor pictures, Wit punctures". The ability to see humor in life is a crucial asset, an individual can have. While Wit is often biting, with d ability 2 relate disparate things so as 2 illuminate them.
1) Bio-gram - is witticism bout a famous person e.g. 'Adam was d happiest man on earth coz he had no mother-in-law '.
2) Irish Bull - is a statement showing absurd contradiction ( Geoffery Chauser coined d word 'bull', Irish immigrants due 2 their poor knowledge of Eng. popularized it as Irishism). E.g. 'D happiest man on earth is one who has never been born'
3) Marshallism - is satire conducive 2 verbal effects often dealing with politics, named after Thomas Marshall, V.P. of U.S. under Woodrow Wilson. E.g. 'Wat this country needs is less judges n more judgments'.
4) Parkerism - refers 2 rhyming couplets bout relationships, originated by Dorothy Parker, short story writer of Broadway e.g.
5) Spoonerism - refers 2 startling contrast b/w 2 images in d form of pun, named after William Spooner. e.g. 'Some people eat to live, sum live 2 eat ! ( kind-of Walter Hudson)
6) Wellerism - is a quotation followed by 'as d', named after Charles Dickens' fictitious character - Sam Weller, d devoted servant of Mr. Pickwick. E.g. 'Virtue is in the middle', as the devil said when he sat between two politicians.

So, u realized how intricately complicated the study of humor is !

Reference: squaresail

(For ELTP Presentation)

PS: Picture courtesy Google.