|
|
|
|
In-joke
|
| |
|
| |
An in-joke (also known as an in joke or inside joke) is a joke whose humor is clear only to those people who are "inside" a social group or occupation; an esoteric joke. They may be colloquially referred to as "You had to be there" moments, as in "You had to have been there when it happened to think it's funny". It is only humorous to those who know the situation behind it. Inside jokes may exist within a small social clique, such as a group of friends, or they may extend to an entire profession (e.g., inside jokes in the film industry).
Discussion
Ask a question about 'In-joke' Start a new discussion about 'In-joke' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
An in-joke (also known as an in joke or inside joke) is a joke whose humor is clear only to those people who are "inside" a social group or occupation; an esoteric joke. They may be colloquially referred to as "You had to be there" moments, as in "You had to have been there when it happened to think it's funny". It is only humorous to those who know the situation behind it. Inside jokes may exist within a small social clique, such as a group of friends, or they may extend to an entire profession (e.g., inside jokes in the film industry). A book was published in 1998 by McFarland & Company cataloguing many of these references in popular media: Film and Television In-Jokes: Nearly 2,000 Intentional References, Parodies, Allusions, Personal Touches, Cameos, Spoofs and Homages
Role
An inside joke works to build community, at the expense of outsiders. Part of the power of an inside joke is that its audience knows that there are those who do not understand the joke. Inside jokes are cryptic allusions to shared common ground that act as triggers. Only those who have shared the common ground provide an appropriate response.An inside joke can be a subtext, where someone will suddenly start laughing at something that is unspoken (usually to apologize for doing so, stating that what they were laughing at was an inside joke).
Types
Computer industry
In the computer industry some computer programmers hide "in jokes" within the code of software in the form of "easter eggs", which are hidden content that can be revealed by following a sequence of inputs.
The Jargon File is a dictionary of programmers' slang, many of which are inside jokes or based on inside jokes.
See also
|
| |
|
|
