![]() ![]() "You blockhead Charlie Brown" is an example.Ī second theory of humour is incongruity theory, which suggests that less likely things are funnier than likely things. One, called superiority humour, suggests we find humour from making fun of people. The study is based on three theories of humour. The capacity to laugh is unique to us and higher primates, but only we have words. Westbury, who has an interest in the psychology of humour, wants to understand what it is about certain words that makes us laugh. No, not you. We just wanted to get your attention so we could talk about the purpose of this study. Some will make you slaphappy, others will make you upchuck, and one we can't mention because you may get your knickers in a knot. In fact, the word giggle, along with wriggly, squiffy and boobs are among the funniest words we know according to a new study by Chris Westbury, a psychologist at the University of Alberta. And there's a big goofy list below of the funniest 200 words in English. I’m no namby-pamby kind of guy, but I decided to skedaddle.Science has determined through rigorous statistical analysis of 45,000 total words what the funniest words in the English language are, and some insights into why they make us giggle. I got discombobulated with everything going on around me. Soon, this ornery crowd began throwing punches and a real donnybrook broke out. You could tell that the politician was flummoxed because everything he now said was a bunch of rigmarole. The press accused him of engaging in some form of skullduggery to cover up a history of accepting payola. He got caught telling a real cockamamie doozy of a lie at this public hearing, which led to a brouhaha between his supporters and members of the press. I once went to an event being held by some muckamuck politician, not a member of the hoi polloi like the rest of us. On the other hand, someone who is a namby-pamby is weak and has no character. Someone who is ornery is mean-spirited and unpleasant. If you are a muckamuck, then you are a celebrity. If you are a member of the hoi polloi, then you are an average citizen. If that same person has been arrested, then he or she is going to the hoosegow. ![]() A doozy of a lie is often told by a politician.Ī politician, or anybody, who is planning to do something which is inappropriate and illicit is engaging in skullduggery. For further understanding of this word, please see your local representative in Congress.Ī doozy is tremendous. If someone babbles endlessly without making any sense, that is a rigmarole. If someone suggests that climate change could be solved by blocking out the sun a few hours per week, that is a cockamamie idea. ![]() If something is cockamamie, it is absurd and unreasonable. If you take too much time leaving a place, you are lollygagging. If you want to run away from something, you can skedaddle. Instead of two people throwing punches, many more people got involved and now many punches are being thrown.Ī brouhaha is similar to a donnybrook in that a lot of people are yelling and arguing, but it may not necessarily involve punching. If you have too many things going on at one time, you might be discombobulated.Ī donnybrook is a fight which got way out of hand. Similar in meaning to flummoxed, to be discombobulated is to be distracted and fumbling around. I have always liked the word discombobulated. So, this got me to thinking – what are some words that can be both funny-sounding and maybe a bit outdated? If your friend shows up in his new car with the sound system blaring, that’s flexing way too hard. In contemporary terms, to flex is to show off something in a way that draws way too much attention to yourself. When that person you’ve been crushing on suddenly strikes up a conversation, you’re probably going to be flummoxed. To be flummoxed is to be confused by something to the point of being distracted and speechless. I remember earlier this year hearing someone use the word flex in a context that I’d never heard before. I had entered the anachronous zone, where the common language of someone of an older generation crosses paths with a younger generation. She laughed and said, “Flummoxed? I’ve never heard that word before!”Īh. I recently had a conversation with someone who is much younger than I am (that’s not hard to do, at my age), and I happened to say that something flummoxed me. ![]()
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