Quote by Max Eastman

A joke is not a thing but a process, a trick you play on the listener's mind. You start him off toward a plausible goal, and then by a sudden twist you land him nowhere at all or just where he didn't expect to go.

A joke is not a thing but a process, a trick you play on the

Summary

This quote highlights that a joke is not simply a statement or an object, but rather a strategic process that manipulates the listener's expectations and perceptions. The speaker suggests that a successful joke involves leading the listener towards a seemingly logical outcome, only to abruptly divert them to an unexpected or nonsensical conclusion. The humor lies in this unexpected twist, which plays with the listener's anticipation and ultimately surprises them.

Topics

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

And at least in poetry you should feel free to lie. That is,

And at least in poetry you should feel free to lie. That is, not to lie, but to imagine what you want, to follow the direction of the poem.

I mean, if you have to wake up in the morning to be validate

I mean, if you have to wake up in the morning to be validated by the editorial page of the New York Times, you got a pretty sorry existence.

As Ralph's character begins to discover the political thrill

As Ralph's character begins to discover the political thriller aspect of the film, he falls deeper in love with his wife, so the two run together. That's the beauty of this film. It has fast pace and excitement, but it also has heart and soul.

Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, le

Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced

Irenaeus of Lyons

In the discovery of secret things, and in the investigation

In the discovery of secret things, and in the investigation of hidden causes, stronger reasons are obtained from sure experiments and demonstrated arguments than from probable conjectures and the opinions of philosophical speculators.

It's hard to get a film, you know, you need a very special f

It's hard to get a film, you know, you need a very special film to be able to get that experimental. But, I would love to see that happen. I would love the opportunity to be more experimental than I am.

Love Opportunity

I'm very accepting with my age. It's like notches on your be

I'm very accepting with my age. It's like notches on your belt: experience, wisdom, and a different kind of beauty. There comes a day when you've become comfortable in your skin.

A very intimate sense of the expressiveness of outward thing

A very intimate sense of the expressiveness of outward things, which ponders, listens, penetrates, where the earlier, less developed consciousness passed lightly by, is an important element in the general temper of our modern poetry.

To rule is easy, to govern difficult.

To rule is easy, to govern difficult.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Don't look forward to the day you stop suffering, because wh

Don't look forward to the day you stop suffering, because when it comes you'll know you're dead.

Tennessee (Thomas Lanier) Willia

Eternity is the mentality for immortality. Make your mark; l

Eternity is the mentality for immortality. Make your mark; leave a positive legacy!

Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

Life Immortality Eternity

Spring is not the best of seasons. Cold and flu are two good

Spring is not the best of seasons. Cold and flu are two good reasons; wind and rain and other sorrow, warm today and cold tomorrow. Whoever said Spring was romantic? The word that best applies is frantic!