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Joke Quotes

What comedians say about making people laugh.

Several quotes here come from people who make a living off timing, including one who admits to softening blunt criticism by wrapping it in humor first, describing it like a cut followed by a few stitches. Another describes the frustrating double standard where the exact same line lands only when a man delivers it.

My music has a high irritation factor. I've always tried to say something. Eccentric lyrics about eccentric people. Often it was a joke. But I would plead guilty on the grounds that I prefer eccentricity to the bland.

Quotes by Randy Newman

Following well-established national security screening procedures and accurately informing Congress about them is not a joke or a political game. It is essential to guaranteeing that our national secrets are protected and to preventing possible blackmailing of key administration officials.

Quotes by Raja Krishnamoorthi

I sometimes joke, Paula, even paranoid people have enemies.

Quotes by Rahm Emanuel

No-one wants to hear a crude joke at the expense of the Principal, or the Bridegroom, or the head of the company. Well, they do, but wait ‘til you’re offstage then WhatsApp it to everyone instead.

Quotes by Rachel Parris

In 1975, I left the burning city of Beirut for the quiet insanity of England. To say that short, frail and wispy 15-year-old me didn't fit in would be such an understatement as to be a joke.

Quotes by Rabih Alameddine

I couldn't afford to get sick in prison. My sickle cell is no joke, so I couldn't eat poorly or not exercise. And everything in jail is designed to do the exact opposite.

Quotes by Prodigy

Historically, Heathrow has been something of a joke, outweighed by its excellent connections. We have to aspire to having an airport at Heathrow with two runways which is a world-class airport. It's a big challenge.

Quotes by Philip Hammond

Somebody from Pitchfork Festival wanted me to have a Microphones reunion. It's a joke. It's just me.

Quotes by Phil Elverum

I laughed, even if I was the butt of the joke.

Quotes by Pete Waterman

I've made a lot of grown men cry with laughter, because I really am quite the joke.

Quotes by Peta Wilson

For the amount of talent I had - and I couldn't dance, act, or tell a joke - I enjoyed a tremendous career.

Quotes by Perry Como

A lot of comedies fall apart because they just go from joke to joke, and the characters are all sort of being crazy off on their own.

Quotes by Paul Feig

What you never want to do is have a story that doesn't track emotionally, because then you're going joke to joke and you're going to fatigue the audience. The only thing that's going to string them to the next joke...

Quotes by Paul Feig

The term 'steampunk' itself, now a badge of honor, began as a putdown, a joke. But like 'Big Bang' in cosmology, the diss became the standard.

Quotes by Paul Di Filippo

They all want to be me. They do! What everybody else says they will do, I've already been doing. They all want to be me. It's become a joke in Congress how Dr. Gingrey and Mr. Kingston have been following...

Quotes by Paul Broun

I joke around a lot about the manic times because they're funny. We manics do outrageous things and it is part of our colorful nature.

Quotes by Patty Duke

I'm probably the guy who keeps it loose around the room and tries to joke around with guys before the game, keeping things funny.

Quotes by Patrick Kane

I love to play the game, love to be around the rink, and love to joke around with my teammates and have some fun.

Quotes by Patrick Kane

I'd come from the bottom of the barrel. Just Owen Hart getting out of the shadow of Bret Hart's little brother. Everyone figured, this is a joke, Owen's going to get squashed.

Quotes by Owen Hart

The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scotts as a joke, but the Scotts haven't seen the joke yet.

Quotes by Oliver Herford

Frequently Asked Questions

What's this collection's overall take on jokes?
It's mostly about the craft and experience of joking, from happily owning being "a ham" who likes "to joke around," to more self-aware reflections on how jokes actually land.
Does any quote talk about how a joke is delivered?
Yes - one quote describes a deliberate technique for softening criticism: "I try to massage it a little and not be as cutting, come behind it with a joke," following a hard truth with humor.
Is there a quote about gender differences in comedy?
Yes, one speaker observes a double standard they experienced firsthand: "A woman would pitch a joke. Nothing. Then a guy would pitch it and everybody would laugh," presented as their own personal observation.
Is there a quote about not understanding your own comedic effect?
Yes - one speaker admits, "I do things, and other people laugh at them. I rarely know what the joke is supposed to be or why they're laughing," a candid, self-deprecating take on being funny by accident.
Where can I find more quotes purely about humor and wit?
See the Humor and Wit quote collections.

One quote is almost a shrug, from someone who says they rarely understand what people find funny about their own material even as others laugh along. For more on comic timing and mood, see our humor quotes and laughter quotes pages.