Knee-slapper
What it means
A joke or story that provokes loud, hearty laughter.
Reach for it when giving folksy informal praise to broad effective humor
Grandpa saved his best knee-slapper for the end of the picnic.
Words to choose between 6
| playful |
|
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| professional | |
| literary |
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playful
belly laugh
Fits when the bodily response itself is being named
Careful Belly laugh is the laughter, not the joke that caused it.
-
playful
rib-tickler
Fits when old-fashioned comic praise suits the voice
Careful Rib-tickler is equally dated and may sound forced.
-
everyday
hilarious joke
Fits when the broad audience needs an immediately clear phrase
Careful The phrase states the reaction but loses the folksy physical image.
-
everyday
Fits when one sharp line lands with force
Careful Zinger can be insulting and need not produce warm laughter.
-
professional
Fits when material reliably entertains a broad audience
Careful A crowd-pleaser may be moving or spectacular without being funny.
-
literary
howler
Fits when a very funny joke or glaring mistake is intended
Careful Howler is ambiguous and can mean an embarrassing error.
Opposites 3
- groaner
- dud
- tearjerker
Common phrases 3
-
real knee-slapper
The story about the runaway hat was a real knee-slapper.
-
old knee-slapper
She revived an old knee-slapper for the family reunion.
-
reliable knee-slapper
His reliable knee-slapper ended the fundraiser on a laugh.
Usage notes
Keep in mind
Knee-slapper is folksy and dated; it usually suits broad, uncomplicated humor rather than subtle wit.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Commander Keane, Australian accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated