metajoke
Humor examining itself
A metajoke is a joke that comments on or plays with the structure of jokes themselves rather than delivering a conventional punchline.
The humor comes from subverting expectations about how jokes work—an anti-joke that deliberately falls flat, a joke about why something isn't funny, or a setup that calls attention to its own setup.
The real joke is that there is no joke.
Metajokes appeal to audiences who enjoy self-referential humor and comedic deconstruction.
Undermining established authority
- setupHow something is arranged
- punchlineHumor's final delivery
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- expectationBelief about future outcomes
format · formula · convention · twist · reversal · timing · delivery · beat
Satirical imitation
- satireMockery exposing vice
- spoofComic exaggerated imitation
- pasticheImitative artistic tribute
- send-upMocking imitation of something
lampoon · caricature · irony · sarcasm · mockery · burlesque · travesty · absurdist
Process invoking itself
- self-awareConscious of own existence
- fourth-wallConceptual stage boundary
- self-deprecatingBelittling one's own abilities
- callbackFollow-up audition invitation
lampshade · deconstruction · nesting · infinite regress · acknowledgment · wink · reflexivity · postmodern
Brief one-eyed closure
- nudgeGentle push to prompt
- knowingPossessing awareness or insight
- insiderOne with confidential access
- referenceDirecting attention elsewhere
Easter egg · fan service · genre-savvy · recognition · complicity · awareness
Relating to intellect
- highbrowIntellectually or artistically sophisticated
- eruditeProfoundly knowledgeable
- sophisticatedWorldly and cultured
- cleverShowing mental quickness
wordplay · allusion · intertextual · literary · philosophical · postmodern · deconstructionist · Nabokov
subversion
Undermining established authority
- setupHow something is arranged
- punchlineHumor's final delivery
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
expectation · format · formula · convention · twist · reversal · timing · delivery · beat · rule of three
parody
Satirical imitation
send-up · lampoon · caricature · irony · sarcasm · mockery · burlesque · travesty · absurdist · deadpan
recursion
Process invoking itself
- self-awareConscious of own existence
- fourth-wallConceptual stage boundary
- self-deprecatingBelittling one's own abilities
callback · lampshade · deconstruction · nesting · infinite regress · acknowledgment · wink · reflexivity · postmodern
wink
Brief one-eyed closure
reference · Easter egg · fan service · genre-savvy · recognition · complicity · awareness
cerebral
Relating to intellect
- highbrowIntellectually or artistically sophisticated
- eruditeProfoundly knowledgeable
- sophisticatedWorldly and cultured
clever · wordplay · allusion · intertextual · literary · philosophical · postmodern · deconstructionist · Nabokov · Borges