How does one refer to the first part of a joke?
The follow up is often referred to as a punchline but I'm unsure how to refer to the first part. Is it a 'joke' or does a 'joke' include the punchline?
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2I usually use the term "run-up". – James Webster Jul 13 '12 at 12:22
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17Related: in a comedy team, the run-up or set-up delivered by a straight-man is called a straightline (which, incidentally, is the shortest distance between two puns). – Chris Cudmore Jul 13 '12 at 17:34
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@ChrisCudmore bravo. – Joel Anair Nov 04 '14 at 18:23
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I think "rising action" would be suitable. It's a literary reference and ties into "risible". Of course, that's me projecting where there is established terminology. – Paul Rowe Dec 09 '15 at 18:03
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The first part of the joke is the setup, a general question or observation which offers an opportunity to give the punchline in response.
The joke is the setup and punchline combined, as either on its own is not inherently funny, in contrast to a one-liner. To the setup and punchline may also be added tags, additional punchlines using the same setup, and toppers, additional punchlines which use the entire earlier joke as a setup.
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4A punchline by itself might be inherently funny if the joke is based on the lack of context (i.e. an orphaned punchline) – Gareth Jul 15 '12 at 09:38
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6I love how this proves that EVERYONE gets sidetracked (from real work at overflow or superuser) by the 'somewhat related but definitely from a different stack exchange site' side panel.
Don't get me wrong, though; I love how the next generation of coders will have a substantial appreciation of english and UX!!!
– lol Feb 19 '14 at 21:15 -
There are so many good comments on this answer I keep having to waiting yet-another-5-seconds in order to upvote them all. – JBCP Feb 20 '14 at 21:28
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@Gareth: I should put in a feature request to get all links to TVtropes banned during work hours. – naught101 Oct 03 '14 at 06:34
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Set-up is what professional comics/writers call it. Here in the UK some also call it a feedline as opposed to punchline.
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14I believe 'feedline' is only used of a setup delivered by a different person than the punchline. – DJClayworth Jul 13 '12 at 17:18
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The setup might be a lot longer than the feedline. The feedline is the line before the punch line (if that makes sense). It is the line off which the punchline can be made. – Francis Davey Feb 23 '24 at 00:34