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something that you say or do to make people laugh, for example a funny story that you tell 笑话；玩笑 I can't tell jokes. 我不会讲笑话。 She's always cracking jokes. 她总爱说笑话。 They often make jokes at each other's expense. 他们经常相互取笑。 I didn't get the joke (= understand it). 我不明白这有什么好笑的。 I wish he wouldn't tell dirty jokes (= about sex). 但愿他别开下流的玩笑。 a sick joke (= about death, disease, etc.) 令人反感的笑话 - as a joke
I only did it as a joke (= it was not meant seriously). 我只是开个玩笑而已。 - joke about somebody/something
Have you heard the joke about the elephant and the mouse? 你听过大象和老鼠的笑话吗？
Culture humourhumourA sense of humour (NAmE humor), an ability to see the funny side of life, is considered essential by most British and American people. Everyone needs to be able to laugh at themselves sometimes, and to recognize that the situation they are in may look funny to others. It is considered a serious criticism of somebody to say that they have no sense of humour. When people are trying to meet other people, for example on an internet dating site, they often ask for possible partners to have a GSOH (good sense of humour).Some people have a dry sense of humour, and can keep a straight face (= not smile) and make their voice sound as though they are being serious when they are joking. Other people are said to be witty (= show a very clever type of humour). A person's sense of humour is influenced by many things, including family and social background and age.British and American humour on stage have some important differences, although the fact that some comedy television shows are popular in both countries shows that there is common ground. For example, American TV shows such as The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory are as popular in Britain as some of its own TV comedy shows. Sitcoms (= shows in which the humour comes from situations that the characters get into) often have a laugh track (= a recording of people laughing) so that the audience at home will know when things people say and do are meant to be funny. In many sitcoms gentle fun is made of ordinary life without the risk of causing anyone serious offence.American stage humour is more direct than British comedy. In the American series Parks and Recreation, for instance, the humour comes from characters behaving in stupid ways. But in the British comedy Fawlty Towers Basil Fawlty's funny characteristics are exaggerated versions of those found in the type of person he represents. David Brent's character in The Office is funny for the same reason. Slapstick comedy, which is based on people falling over, crashing into each other, etc. is now less popular in Britain.British comedy often makes use of irony, humour which depends on suggesting the opposite of what is actually expressed. Many novels, films, stage plays, etc. use irony, even when discussing serious subjects such as death. Popular humour may sometimes rely on double entendre (= using a phrase that can be understood in two ways, one of which is usually sexual) or on innuendo (= making an indirect suggestion of something rude). These were both used a lot in the popular series of Carry On films that began in the 1960s.Satire (= making people or institutions appear silly to show how stupid or bad they are) is an important element of popular British political comedy programmes. One of the most successful British comedy series, which also became popular in the US, was Monty Python's Flying Circus. It had a zany (= odd and silly) and satirical humour. Comic strips and cartoons, whether printed in newspapers, shown on television or the internet or made into films, are popular in both the US and Britain. Famous examples that started in the 1940s and 50s are Tom and Jerry and Peanuts. More recently, The Simpsons and Family Guy are very popular TV cartoons.Stand-up comedians perform on television or in clubs, telling gags (= jokes) and funny stories which end with a punchline, the part where the audience is supposed to laugh. Many comedians tell jokes that are funny because of sexual innuendo, and this is usually not considered suitable for family audiences. In Britain, common targets of comedians include politicians and British habits and customs. Observational humour makes observations about things people do in their everyday lives but have not noticed or discussed before.Many people tell jokes at school, at home and at the office. People may start a speech with a joke or funny story to help break the ice (= make people feel more relaxed).Children tell jokes that involve a play on words, such as knock-knock jokes or ‘What do you call …’ jokes, for example, ‘What do you call a man with a seagull on his head?’ ‘Cliff’.Adults sometimes tell jokes that make fun of common characteristics of people who do a particular job. For example, light bulb jokes suggest mistakes these people would make in trying to change a light bulb: ‘How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?’ - ‘None. The bulb will change itself when it is ready.’ Jokes about people from particular countries, people of a particular race, religion or gender, or people with disabilities are not acceptable.Practical jokes involve tricking people, and are not usually very popular, but on April Fool's Day (1 April) it is traditional for people to play practical jokes on each other. Newspapers often include a story that is not true hoping that some readers will believe it and then feel silly.Extra ExamplesHe told us the ending, completely spoiling the joke. 他把结局告诉了我们，使得这个笑话一点儿都不好笑。 He treated his exams as a huge joke. 他把自己的考试当成一个大笑话。 His brothers were always playing practical jokes. 他那几个兄弟老是搞恶作剧。 She didn't seem to find my jokes amusing. 她似乎不觉得我的笑话好笑。 She doesn't like jokes about her height. 她不喜欢别人拿她的身高开玩笑。 She likes to have a joke with her employees. 她喜欢和她的员工讲笑话。 That's an old joke—I've heard it lots of times. 那是个过时的笑话 － 我已经听过好多遍了。 The audience wasn't very responsive and the jokes fell flat. 听众没什么反应，那些笑话未能让人发笑。 The show features a running joke about a nosy dog. 节目讲的是一条好管闲事的狗所出的各种洋相。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- amusing
- funny
- good
- …
- crack
- make
- tell
- …
- fall flat
- be on somebody
- as a joke
- joke about
- make a joke of something
- [singular] (informal)
a person, thing or situation that is silly or annoying and cannot be taken seriously 荒唐可笑的人（或事物、局面）；笑料；笑柄 This latest pay offer is a joke. 最近这次提出的报酬简直是开玩笑。 This can't really be happening—it must be some kind of cruel joke. 这不可能真的发生——这一定是某种残酷的玩笑。
see also jocular
Word Originlate 17th cent. (originally slang): perhaps from Latin jocus ‘jest, wordplay’.
Idioms
be/get beyond a joke
to become annoying and no longer acceptable 超出开玩笑的限度（令人恼火或无法接受） His teasing is getting beyond a joke. 他的取笑已经超出了玩笑的范围。
be no joke
the joke’s on somebody
- (informal)
used to say that somebody who tried to make another person look silly now looks silly instead 开玩笑开到自己身上了；捉弄别人反而捉弄到自己头上 I thought I'd play a trick on them, but in the end the joke was on me. 我本想捉弄一下他们，但最终闹笑话的人却是我。
make a joke of something
to laugh about something that is serious or should be taken seriously 拿某事开玩笑；以某事为笑柄 We tried to make a joke of our situation, but it wasn't really funny. 我们试图拿我们的处境开玩笑，但这实在不是什么好笑的事。
take a joke