What are good one liner jokes?
06/02/25 11:03pm
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This post was sourced from submitted reader questions and posted by wikiHow Editorial Staff.
A good one-liner joke is sort of like a riddle. The solving of the riddle is supposed to get a laugh. So, a great one-liner gives people just barely enough information to know something is happening, but they have no idea what.
A lot of times, it's misdirection—you think I'm going one way, but really, I'm going the other. You think I'm going to say this, because I’ve set it up that way, but really, I’m about to say something that takes you completely off guard. A one-liner is one thought, and the punchline is different from what people expect it to be. It’s all about the element of surprise. If people can scream out your punchline before you say it, you’ve given away too much or your topic is too generic. But if they can’t see it coming, that’s the beauty of it. Otherwise, what’s the point? I hate to run an audience around in circles. I like to take them somewhere. Even if they don’t like me, I still want them to come out saying, “Alright, he took me on a journey I didn’t want to go on, but he took me.”
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A lot of times, it's misdirection—you think I'm going one way, but really, I'm going the other. You think I'm going to say this, because I’ve set it up that way, but really, I’m about to say something that takes you completely off guard. A one-liner is one thought, and the punchline is different from what people expect it to be. It’s all about the element of surprise. If people can scream out your punchline before you say it, you’ve given away too much or your topic is too generic. But if they can’t see it coming, that’s the beauty of it. Otherwise, what’s the point? I hate to run an audience around in circles. I like to take them somewhere. Even if they don’t like me, I still want them to come out saying, “Alright, he took me on a journey I didn’t want to go on, but he took me.”
To write good one-liner jokes, start with a strong concept and end with an impact. In text, the structure matters. Verbally, it’s about being concise. Some people are funny with friends but not on stage—it’s about how you say it. If it’s on camera or on stage, you need structure and flow. If it’s casual conversation, it should sound natural, like you’re sharing, not performing. So for one-liners, tailor it to the setting. In conversation, don’t deliver it like a punchline—share it like a thought. People can tell when it’s forced. You’ve gotta say
it to someone, not just recite it.
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