Tuesday, August 3, 2010

ABC Wednesday Challenge -- C

It's ABC Wednesday again, and we are off to a good start on the alphabet:


That's right, we are all the way up to C.

Yesterday, my Tuesday Trivia Tie-in was about The Three Stooges, and two ties that I saw in a small diner we visited.


So for C, I wanted to talk a bit about Comedy.

In show business, there are two different definitions of comedy.

Historically there were two kinds of plays, comedies and tragedies.

An oversimplification of the two is that Comedies were plays about the happy things in life, while tragedies were plays about the sad things in life.

Comedy has taken on a more contemporary meaning in today's world though, and now, comedy is traditionally a reference to any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse.

There are generally three accepted genres of comedy: Farce, Romantic Comedy, and Satirical Comedy.

Farce features slapstick, physical comedy, and improbably hilarity. Characters that are caricatures of stereotypes. It generally involves subplots that include mistaken identity, or underestimation. An excellent example of this type of comedy is Jerry Lewis.

Romantic Comedy involves a love plot, generally between two young likable characters, who face seemingly insurmountable odds, and conquer them to live happily ever after. Think Chick Flick

Satirical Comedy centers on human vice and folly, it often features con artists and tricksters. A more contemporary illustration of satirical Comedy is Black Humor, which centers around the grotesque, or the offensive. Sexual innuendoes, scatalogical references and the use of deliberately offensive language intended to shock the audience are common in Black Humor. Think George Carlin, or Richard Pryor.

Samuel Johnson, a British author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer and editor. (dang, he must have been a busy guy...) Said that Puns are the lowest form of humor.

The pun, is a form of word play which exploits numerous meanings of a statement, allowing it to be understood in multiple ways.

I thought I'd finish with some classic puns:

~I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

~Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.

~Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

~Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat says to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'

~Old doctors never die they just lose their patience.

~It was an emotional wedding. Even the cake was in tiers.

~I relish the fact that you've mustard the strength to ketchup to me.

~When an actress saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she'd dye.

I bet you know some good ones too! Feel free to add one in your comment.

Please take some time to check out what others were INSPIRED to blog about this week, at

ABC Wednesday,

and feel free to add your own blog to the list as we work our way through the alphabet.

And don't forget to enter my giveaway, check it out here


Be sure and join me each Tuesday for Tuesday Trivia Tie-in, where readers are invited to share trivia and show off their treasures.
Read all about it here

16 comments:

  1. I'm more the Romantic Comedy kind of Gal! I must admit I do like good Satirical comedy! George Carlin was a master at it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Groan!!! I adore puns and these are tops.
    Forced "comedy" is dull. I can't find many good comedies on TV nowdays.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like all comedies. I enjoy a good laugh. Love Eldritch

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a fun post for the C Day, Troy! I, too, love puns and these are terrific! And I love comedy -- lot more fun than drama!! Hope your week is going well! Enjoy!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  5. i like the romantic comedy too! :) fun post Troy..!

    ReplyDelete
  6. i'm in the romantic comedy side --- i don't like too much drama... :) love the puns myself...

    -rache

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm a romantic comedy kind of girl, although, when I was young way back in the 50s I loved Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

    Where did the little king keep his armies?
    Up his sleevies.....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Did you hear that loud groan and the giggling? Yep, that was me when I got to the puns! I was kinda hoping you'd focus on Curly for C day ~ yuk yuk yuk!

    ReplyDelete
  9. never did like the Stooges. I like situational comedies. oh, wrote about a comic myself!

    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

    ReplyDelete
  10. Troy as ever a wonderful collection of fascinating information! Loved the puns!


    Thanks so much
    Denise ABC Team

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am a chick flick girl all the way. Nothing beats a nice romantic story!
    Love your puns. I wish I could come up with one just like that, but alas...

    ReplyDelete
  12. A very informative C post. Thanks so much for participating in ABC Wednesday.

    Donna - ABC Wednesday

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love a good comedy but seldom enjoy slapstick. I like subtle comedy which employs irony and wit and includes an element of commentary on human nature. I guess I'm hard to fit into a category! LOL!

    And I disagree with Sam Johnson - puns can be very, very clever!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great comedians are a rare breed these days. Roger highlighted one of the best of the century! I've been amazed and shocked at what mainstream culture thinks is a funny movie lately.

    ReplyDelete
  15. 'Comedy' is an excellent C-word!
    Best wishes,
    Anna
    Anna's C-word

    ReplyDelete