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What do you call it when a comedian uses an indirect joke that require interpretation i.e. takes a second to interpret which makes it funnier. Some people won't understand it which gives it an exclusivity which makes the person laugh more as opposed to a common joke where the punchline is easy to understand

Simplified example

What do you call a dog with no legs? It doesn't matter what you call him he isn't coming.

dfmetro
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    i know your example is simplified, could you perhaps give us a more complex one since i'm not getting the indirect or esoteric nature that you reference. – Spagirl Oct 27 '16 at 09:20
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    This is a perfect example of what the OP is talking about: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/194919/two-crows-being-an-attempted-murder – JonLarby Oct 27 '16 at 09:36
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    It is called misdirection, but I'm having trouble finding good references. Maybe someone can lend a hand and post an answer. My favourite one is A: "My dog's got no nose." B: "How does it smell?" A: "Terrible." Some comedians say that all jokes are based on misdirection. – Mick Oct 27 '16 at 09:49
  • @Spagirl http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-347366.html – michael.hor257k Oct 27 '16 at 18:07
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    You can say that the joke is a thinker and that it goes over many people's heads, or that it takes a moment to get or that it is subtle. – DyingIsFun Dec 27 '16 at 01:19

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You could call it a homonymic pun

Homonymic puns, another common type, arise from the exploitation of words which are both homographs and homophones. The statement "Being in politics is just like playing golf: you are trapped in one bad lie after another" puns on the two meanings of the word lie as "a deliberate untruth" and as "the position in which something rests". An adaptation of a joke repeated by Isaac Asimov gives us "Did you hear about the little moron who strained himself while running into the screen door?" playing on strained as "to give much effort" and "to filter".

0xFEE1DEAD
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