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A one-liner is a joke that is delivered in a single line. A good one-liner is said to be pithy – concise and meaningful.[1] Comedians and actors use this comedic method as part of their performance, and many fictional characters are also known to deliver one-liners, including James Bond, who often makes pithy and laconic quips after disposing of a villain.[2]
Examplesedit
"Never read a pop-up book about giraffes." (Sean Lock)
"Throwing acid is wrong. In some people's eyes." (Jimmy Carr)
"My girlfriend makes me want to be a better person - so I can get a better girlfriend." (Anthony Jeselnik)
"Cricket. No matter who wins, both teams, and all the fans, are losers." (Frankie Boyle)
"If life were easy, it wouldn’t be difficult." (Kermit the Frog)
"An escalator cannot break, it can only become stairs." (Mitch Hedberg)
"My movies were the kind they show in prisons and airplanes, because nobody can leave." (Burt Reynolds)
"I'm on a whiskey diet… I've lost three days already." (Tommy Cooper)
^Miller, K.E.L. (3 December 2009). "The Unuttered Punch Line: Pragmatic Incongruity and the Parsing of 'What's the Difference' Jokes" (PDF). Truman State University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2015.
^For James Bond, one line says it all - Christopher Bahn, Today, 10 November 2008
^"Number 64300". The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
^"100 of the best ever jokes and one-liners from the Edinburgh Fringe". iNews. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2018.