punchlines

A punchline is the final sentence or line of a joke intended to provoke laughter by delivering the payoff after the setup.

The setup presents context and builds expectation; the punchline subverts it through surprise, misdirection, or wordplay. In spoken delivery, timing, emphasis, and pace amplify the effect; in writing, concise phrasing and rhythm perform a similar role.

Punchlines vary in form. Misdirection-based lines steer attention toward a false conclusion, then reveal an unexpected twist. Wordplay relies on puns or linguistic twists. Incongruity pairs a statement with an unforeseen context. Anti-humor and deadpan punchlines rely on deliberate understatement for effect. One-liner jokes place the entire setup and punchline in a single compact line.

Punchlines appear across media and genres. They are central to stand-up comedy, cartoon captioning, comic strips, sitcoms, and online memes. In cartoons, the final caption or last panel often delivers the punchline; in stand-up, delivery, timing, and voice shape the viewer’s reaction.

The term “punchline” likely originated in 19th-century American humor as a metaphor for a line that lands a punch. The concept centers on the joke’s payoff and is analyzed in humor theories that emphasize surprise, incongruity, and relief as sources of laughter.