Lesson 2 · Joke mechanics · 6 min · Misdirection
Setup and punchline: the two-part engine
Every joke is a little lie you tell, then reveal
The big ideaThe setup makes the listener assume something. The punchline reveals they assumed wrong. The laugh is the moment their brain re-reads the setup.
Watch the pro do it
Watch forCarr is the cleanest example of setup → punch on the planet. Pause a few jokes right before the last word and guess the ending. You'll guess wrong most of the time. That wrong guess is the setup doing its job.
Via Jimmy Carr on YouTube
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