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n. 1. Something said or done to evoke laughter or amusement, especially an amusing story with a punch line. 2. A mischievous trick; a prank: played a joke on his roommate. 3. Something that is of ludicrously poor quality: Their delivery service is a joke. 4. Informal a. Something not to be taken seriously; a triviality: The accident was no joke. b. An object of amusement or laughter; a laughingstock: His loud tie was the joke of the office. v. joked, jok·ing, jokes v.intr. 1. To tell or play jokes; jest. 2. To speak in fun; be facetious: You have to be joking. v.tr. To say or write as a joke. [Latin iocus; see yek- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] joking·ly adv. Synonyms: joke, witticism, quip, crack, wisecrack, gag These nouns refer to something that is said or done in order to evoke laughter or amusement. Joke especially denotes an amusing story with a punch line at the end: She told jokes at the party. A witticism is a witty, usually cleverly phrased remark: "He said one should treat heavy things lightly and light things with gravity, which became a handy witticism" (Natalie Dykstra). A quip is a clever, pointed, often sarcastic remark: He responded to the tough questions with quips. Crack and wisecrack refer less formally to flippant or sarcastic retorts: She made a crack about my driving ability; he was punished for making wisecracks in class. Gag is principally applicable to a broadly comic remark or to comic byplay in a theatrical routine: It was one of the most memorable gags in the history of vaudeville. |
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