Dry humor refers to the expression of humor or jokes in an expressionless way, that makes it difficult for someone to understand the joke or laugh at it. It is also known as deadpan humor or dry humor. The term “dry jokes” come from the lack of emotions and expression the dry humorist puts into the jokes. This might make the jokes to be difficult to understand at first hearing but once you do, you might realize how funny the jokes are.
A dry sense of humor is an individual’s ability to make up dry jokes or present jokes in a ‘dry’, expressionless way.
Psychologists have tried to explain what makes people laugh at a joke but the concept of humor is itself elusive. Just like other kinds of humor, a dry sense of humor encompasses many components, including the presentation of the joke itself, the personality of the humorist, and other nonchalant body gestures of the dry joke presenter.
Anyone can learn how to make dry humor but some people are naturally gifted with that ability. Such that, those people are said to have a dry sense of humor.
In this post, you will learn more about the elements of dry humor, signs that you have a dry sense of humor, and what to do to develop a dry sense of humor.
How dry humor started
Before people were described as having a dry sense of humor or not, the concept of dry humor was first established. Dry humor or deadpan humor has its origins in Ancient England and it is said to be as old as the English Language itself.
Dry jokes have the basic element of irony in them. That is, they talk about the opposite of what is meant in a way that makes them so funny if you are able to work your understanding back to what was meant. This element of irony is native to British English, and hence dry humor was said to have originated from there.
Not too long ago, dry humor started gaining popularity in comedy TV shows, books, talks, and so on. At the same time, a dry sense of humor became an ability to be coveted among comedians or humorists.
What makes up a dry sense of humor?
1. Lack of expression
Dry jokes are expressionless, hence they are termed “dry”. They are also used to make supposedly harsh remarks in a milder way because most people might not understand them directly.
For example, in the short video below, when asked “How is your sister”, April Ludgate, in the TV series, Parks and Recreation (2009-2015), replied, “She has the shingles” in a totally expressionless manner.
2. A touch of impossibility
Steven Wright is one notable American dry humorist who makes expressionless “dry” jokes from unrealistic remarks and lets you do whatever you want with them, whether to laugh or not. This lack of expression is what typically characterizes dry jokes, dry humor, or deadpan jokes.
In the video example below, Steven Wright said, “So, I got off the plane and I forgot to take off my seatbelt and I’m dragging the plane through the terminal… The wings are knocking people over…” At first, you think he is trying to say he alighted from the plane after it has landed, without taking off his seatbelt, and then, something no one can explain happened. On second thought, you think he jumped off the plane while in mid-air without removing his seat belt. Then, he started moving with the plane through the terminal. In this case, Wright engaged impossible situations to convey his dry sense of humor.
Here is another video of Steven Wright displaying his dry sense of humor.
3. The more you understood dry jokes, the funnier they get
Dry jokes make come off as dry and expressionless but once you get in tune with what the humorist is trying to say, you might end up with outbursts of laughter. Even negative situations can be made to sound less offensive and harsh if you have a dry sense of humor.
Someone with a dry sense of humor may mean the opposite of what they say. While it might take you some time to understand, it gets really funny the moment you do.
How to develop a dry sense of humor
Because of the special status given to dry humor, many people want to develop their dry sense of humor, for performances, speech presentations, conferences, and/or other daily conversations with other people.
Once people know you have a dry sense of humor, it usually takes them lesser time to laugh at your jokes. Hence, it requires not only knowledge about dry jokes or a dry sense of humor but also the need to develop that personality or presence for dry jokes. It is this presence that we call a dry sense of humor.
If you are already a comedian who simply wants to find out if your pattern of comedy could be described as dry humor or deadpan comedy, you can compare your jokes with the example of dry jokes I will provide shortly in the next session.
But if you want to develop your dry sense of humor, you not only need to see those examples in the next section but also need to build that persona of deadpan comedy. It doesn’t come in a single day, but with time, people will begin to see you as an expressionless dry comedian.
The importance of habitually creating the persona for dry jokes over time is that when dry jokes are made carelessly, they can irritate the listener. You want to ensure that you first sensitize people with a new persona of dry jokes by first taking things less seriously with them.
If you are too serious all the time, people can misinterpret your dry jokes to be serious talk and get offended by them.
More examples of dry jokes
Before you develop your dry sense of humor, it is only proper that you see some examples of dry jokes given by renowned dry humorists in the past. Below are a few examples of dry/deadpan humor by famous dry humorists.
- “When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane”.
- Telling a frustrated fellow, “The solution to frustration is to eat rotten apples with scrambled eggs”.
- “Half the people you know are below average”.
- “I’d kill for a Nobel Peace Prize”.
- “I almost broke both my arms trying to hold open a revolving door for a woman”.
- “I’ve never been married, but I tell people I’m divorced so they won’t think something is wrong with me.” – Elayne Boosler
- “Our bombs are smarter than the average high school student. At least they can find Kuwait.” – Whitney Brown
- “A cop stopped me for speeding. He said, ‘Why were you going so fast?’ I said, ‘See this thing my foot is on? It’s called an accelerator. When you push down on it, it sends more gas to the engine. The whole car just takes right off. And see this thing? This steers it.” – Steven Wright
- “The most important thing I would learn in school was that almost everything I would learn in school would be utterly useless. When I was fifteen I knew the principal industries of the Ruhr Valley, the underlying causes of World War One, and what Peig Sayers had for her dinner every day…What I wanted to know when I was fifteen was the best way to chat up girls. That is what I still want to know.” – Joseph O’Connor (from The Secret World of the Irish Male)
- “I broke a mirror in my house and I’m supposed to get seven years of bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me five” – Steven Wright
Signs you have a dry sense of humor
People with a dry sense of humor have the following personality characteristics:
- A strong personality: They are able to maintain an expressionless face even when giving dry jokes. Even when making sarcastic statements, they maintain a lack of expression such that instead of finding the jokes irritating and annoying, you end up bursting into laughter.
- A funny outlook: Comedians generally develop a funny “I-don’t-care-what-people-think” character. This makes you sound funnier even when the joke would dryly come out as not funny when said by a non-comedian.
- Dry humorists often have an antagonistic personality or outlook. By always meaning words in the opposite, you are demonstrating the core element of dry humor.
- Being able to use uninteresting concepts to make people laugh.
- People with a dry sense of humor are capable of using common statements to evoke humor in their listeners.
- If you have a dry sense of humor, some people might have expressed dissatisfaction with your presentation at least once, because you state unreasonable experiences in a bland/plain manner. One’s ability to state simple ideas in an extremely plain way is the most distinguishing feature of a deadpan humorist.
- Someone with a dry sense of humor could be naturally described as very sarcastic in the way they talk but in a funny way.
How to make your dry jokes funny if people complain about them
Dry jokes are described as dry because of lack of expression, not because they are not meant to be funny. What this means is that you still have to devise ways to make them funny to your listeners.
If people are complaining about your dry jokes as not being funny, it could be that you have not yet mastered the act or developed the persona of dry comedy yet. Don’t worry, you will get there.
Here are some tips on making your dry jokes funny to your listeners or audience.
1. Be observant of the world around you
By carefully observing the world around you and staying up to date with new information and trends, you can make better dry jokes that hit each time.
2. Master the art of wordplay
You don’t need the most sophisticated words to make deadpan humor, you only need the ability to play with simple words in a way that connects them together to make a different meaning.
3. Read widely
You can read other people’s dry humor like the examples given above. You can also read up on new information, especially trends that people can relate to.
4. Learn how to switch
Your life is not going to be all about dry humor but you need to learn how to switch from seriousness to dry humor and vice-versa. Problem making this switch can make people find your jokes annoying when in fact you are only trying to entertain them.
5. Understand how to use sarcasm
Sarcasm is one of the principal elements of deadpan jokes and you need to learn how to use it.
6. Study people’s minds like a psychologist
To make your deadpan jokes come off as funny to your audience, you need to be able to know what is going on in their minds through their actions and facial expressions so that you can craft deadpan jokes that appeal to them. Summarily, know your audience.
7. Learn to be firm and expressionless
Dry jokes are about being expressionless. You need to put up an unshaken attitude to produce the right deadpan humor. Even if people might find your dry joke annoying, if you maintain an unflinching demeanor, you might get them to start laughing.
8. Accept that not everyone will understand you
You can easily get discouraged when people don’t understand and laugh at your dry jokes. Accept that not everyone will understand you, based on their mood, or other factors. With time you will learn more ways to get everyone into the mood for some dry humor.
10. Turn every situation into a goldmine of dry humor
Just like Steven Wright, you can turn your worst experiences into absurd storylines for your dry humor. There are enough ideas from your everyday experiences.
Conclusion
Understanding what dry humor is, and how to develop a dry sense of humor requires a full understanding of the concept of dry humor. Using some examples of dry or deadpan jokes, I have tried to explain them for you to understand.
Deadpan or dry jokes are named for their primary nature of lacking expression but they are inherently capable of exciting uncontrollable emotional responses in the form of laughter when presented in the right way.
Lastly, several factors can influence the effect of one’s dry jokes on the listeners or audience. They may absolutely not understand what you mean, they may not be in the mood for laughs, they might not like you, and so on. However, if you have developed a dry sense of humor, your jokes will still evoke the desired response even if your story or joke reminds your listeners of a past traumatic or painful event.
With these, I think you better understand what dry jokes are and how to develop a dry sense of humor if you are interested in doing so.
