dry humor
Understated, expressionless comedy
Dry humor is comedy delivered without obvious signals that a joke is being made—no smile, no change in tone, no wink.
The speaker maintains a straight face while saying something absurd or ironic, leaving the audience to recognize the humor themselves.
British comedy often favors this understated style over broader American approaches.
She said with dry humor that her cat was plotting her death.
- deadpanExpressionless, especially for humor
- drollOddly humorous
- laconicBrief in expression
- wryDryly mocking in tone
- raised eyebrowFacial expression of skepticism
understatement · matter of fact · irony · wit · one liner · poker-faced · sarcasm · self-deprecation · quip · impassive · tongue-in-cheek · subtle · epigram · intentional · indirect · straight face · monotone · mockery
- humorjoke, jokes, joking, comedy, comic
- Britishnesstea, London, BBC, Big Ben, royal family
- clever humorwordplay, clever wordplay, clever banter, puns, irony
- comedy elementspunchline, wit, gag, satire, irony
- comedy stylesjokes, sarcasm, puns, irony, parody
- comedy writingjoke, jokes, comedy, satire, parody
delivery style
dry humorslapstick
Exaggerated physical humor
broad comedy · physical comedy · mugging · clowning · camp