That ‘famous British sense of humour’

While humour is universal, and not innate to any particular culture or nationality, the British have become well-known for their idiosyncratic yet widely popular brand of comedy. From the coarse to the highly sophisticated, perhaps more than any other nation, the UK has become synonymous with wit.

Below we will look at the main types of British comedy and give examples of each style of humour.

1) Puns

Frequently used by Shakespeare as far back as Elizabethan England, a pun is a play on words relying on a double meaning or ambiguity. English is rich in homophones and homonyms and thus ideal for such jokes.

For example:

Homonym

Why do bakers work so hard?

Because they knead (i.e. need) the dough (i.e. a slang term for money)

Homophone

My pony has a cough today. He’s a little hoarse (i.e. little horse = pony)

Now somewhat unfashionable in comedic circles for being insufficiently edgy, many mainstream comedians continue to use puns as a way of demonstrating their adept use of the English language, and ‘punnymen’ are here to stay.

2) Sarcastic, ironic, or deadpan humour

Generally considered a more refined form of comedy altogether, enhancing the opposite of what is actually being said in a deadpan way has been a staple of British comedy for many decades.

A famous early protagonist of sarcasm/irony was Oscar Wilde, whose cleverly constructed quips and urbane, seemingly repressed persona made him an icon of the countercultural movement of late-Victorian England.

For example:

I am so clever that sometimes I don’t understand a single word of what I am saying (i.e. avoid being too pretentious)

Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

In the movies, the actor Alan Rickman later became famous for his dry, sarcastic delivery in films such as Die Hard and the Harry Potter franchise, and indeed it continues to play to national stereotypes to cast British thespians as villains who are clipped, intellectually superior and generally aloof.

3) Surrealist humour

Sharing some similarities with sarcastic humour is surrealist or absurdist humour, which seeks to defamiliarise accepted social tenets and understandings by undermining them to make societal points.

The undisputed masters of this were the Monty Python team of the 1960s onwards who used bizarre and sometimes uncomfortable images to question orthodoxy.

For example, here’s the famous Lumberjack Song:

I’m a lumberjack, and I’m okay

I sleep all night and I work all day

I cut down trees, I skip and jump

I like to press wild flowers

I put on women’s clothing

And hang around in bars

Chorus: He cuts down trees, he skips and jumps

He likes to press wild flowers

He puts on women’s clothing

And hangs around in bars

I’m a lumberjack, and I’m okay

I sleep all night and I work all day

I cut down trees, I wear high heels

Suspenders, and a bra

I wish I’d been a girlie

Just like my dear Papa

Chorus: He cuts down trees, he wears high heels

Suspenders, and a bra?! [Chorus walks off in disgust]

Here, not only are traditional concepts of masculinity brought into question, but crossdressing is introduced to the popular consciousness — and all through the medium of a silly, though catchy song!

Heavily indebted to Monty Python, the globally successful The Simpsons franchise continues to use outwardly frivolous jokes and offbeat situations to make more profound comments on society.

4) Observational humour

Quite the opposite of surrealist humour is observational comedy, which instead uses everyday, commonplace situations to cause laughter through shared experience and understanding. Enduringly popular by its nature, it has been a mainstay of mainstream comedy since the 1970s.

A pioneer of this brand of humour was the Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, who became one of the world’s most popular comics through telling the audience what they already felt in a clever, if acerbic, way. For example:

What always staggers me is that when people blow their noses, they always look into their hankies to see what came out. What do they expect to find?

Scotland has the only football team in the world that does a lap of disgrace!

The expletive-ridden Connolly aside, observational comedy is often referred to as clean comedy, because it doesn’t seek to push boundaries or cause offence.

Comedians such as Michael McIntyre and Miranda Hart enjoy massive success not because they are controversial, but because they engender common understanding with the audience by relating their everyday mishaps in a warm, self-depreciating way that audiences can empathise with.

5) Political satire/humour

Finally, a more contentious form of humour is overtly political. Growing out of the Alternative Comedy scene of the 1980s as a reaction to the then ubiquitous racist, sexist and homophobic humour, it sought to create a more equal society by using laughter to gain acceptance for minorities and the underprivileged — with the Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher being the frequent butt of its jokes.

For example:

Margaret Thatcher’s final wish was to be cremated. Unfortunately, we’ve no coal left. (Thatcher famously ended Britain’s coal industry)

In the old days, people used to be named after what they made. Carter if they made carts, Cooper if they made barrels. Thatcher if they made people sick.

While the tumultuous political climate of Britain in recent years has led to a rebirth of openly politically conscious comedy, a frequent criticism is that It is biased and ignores the viewpoints of the majority in a generally right-leaning country.

And indeed, many Alternative comics such as Stephen Fry and Ben Elton now express concerns that they’ve inadvertently created a kind of comedic group-think that’s detrimental to both comedy and free speech generally.

This said, right-wing comedy — which is considered to ‘punch down’ — is normally considered unacceptable, though the recent Woke phenomenon and its often excessive political correctness has created a new generation of comics who aren’t so much right-wing as anti-left.

In conclusion, the British sense of humour continues to enjoy worldwide international discussion and emulation. While tastes may change markedly through the decades, the idea of Britain as a witty nation with a distinctive style of humour remains in the mindset of people worldwide.

Is your country considered a funny nation, and do you have examples of humour from your own country? Please let us know in the comments below!