Saturday, April 08, 2006

Sarcasm

People think humor is a difficult art. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. It isn’t. Not if you know the tricks to it.

People also think I’m funny. I’ll let you in on another little secret. George Bush is a pedophile.

There are many kinds of humor. There’s standup, there’s slapstick, there’s punning, there’s cheesy and the list goes on endlessly. All of them fall into two categories - those that are actually funny and those that are easy to pull off. These two categories are mutually exclusive. Hence a style of humor that is funny requires a fair deal of skill and one that doesn’t require much skill would probably fetch you more boos than guffaws

For example, punning usually draws a great deal of appreciation if done well. However, coming up with puns of a good quality is an art of extreme difficulty. Cheesy humor on the other hand is both produced and appreciated solely by people with single figure IQ’s.

However, there is one exception to this rule. Sarcasm.

Sarcasm is my favorite style of humor and I’ll show you why. Firstly, coming with a sarcastic repartee is as easy as pie. How hard can it get? All you have to do is say the opposite of what you mean!

For example, I meet a male friend wearing a frilly, pink shirt. I say, “Whoa! Nice shirt, mate! You look like a real lumberjack in that!” You mean, “Aohw! (the opposite of “Whoa”) Horrid shirt, Ma’am! You look as gay as Elton John liplocking with his boyfriend after a session of figure skating!” (Yes, I think figure skaters are gay. Sue me.)

Notice I have taken what I actually thought about the situation, and flipped everything around. That’s not very hard to do. Even you could do it. (A slight caveat here - I know of a guy who took this advice of “flipping everything around before doing it” a little too seriously. He couldn’t impregnate his wife for the longest time, and I think I know why!)

The next important point is that sarcasm is funny. Okay, maybe not to the person at the receiving end of it, but definitely to all others present. Master the art of sarcasm and you can be sure to rise up the popularity charts.

The final reason why I like sarcasm is because it pisses people off. A well made sarcastic jibe at a person can cause as much damage as a truckload of choicy expletives. (Of course, combining the both of them is a potent mixture best left to the experts.)

However, nothing in this world is ever all good. (Except Alicia Silverstone, but we’ll leave that aside for now.) Sarcasm itself has one major drawback. After a point, people stop believing you at all. Even when you’re telling the truth. I ought to know. That’s what my life is like right now!

19 comments:

_dirtboy said...

How about the people on the receiving end taking your sarcasm straight in the face, like a bonehead, or acting like one, and turning the tables?? Leaves you shame-faced, doesn't it??

And everyone know about Bush.. that aint no secret!

Switchblade said...

Dont you feel that humour loses its essence when its being taken apart and viwed under a microscope? Because if you actually sit to think about, and study each and every sarcastic or cheesy comment, nothing will ever be funny to you, regardless of what your IQ may be.

FifthBeatle said...

freaky chakra - yeah, i guess so...

facesmasher - yea, happns to me sometimes.. not the greatest feeling in the world..

switchblade - dude, i might have to "take apart" your comment to figure out wht it means.. *rolls eyes*

BTW, I WANT THE BLOODY HAIR GEL!

FifthBeatle said...

varun - which new RHCP song, dude?? cud we have a name please?

FifthBeatle said...

aragorn (and whomever else this may concern) - this post was supposed to be a "standup" clippet.. that centered around the fact tht sarcasm is basically just saying the opposite of the truth... but since i hadnt posted for a while i elongated it into a postable length.. which i now regret... i'll try to come up with something good soon..!

there... i've apologized!

FifthBeatle said...

varun - no.. i've nvr heard of it.. send thru msn..

AWY said...

The final reason why I like sarcasm is because it pisses people off. A well made sarcastic jibe at a person can cause as much damage as a truckload of choicy expletives.

No wonder you like sarcasm.
Arnold - the friendly piss-you-off-er!!!!
lol...

AWY said...

ya.. my bad..
you're definitely not "friendly"..
I meant something on the lines of "the friendly neighbourhood superheroe"...

FifthBeatle said...

anna - yeah.. *tht* i am! :) just starting to get sick of it though... coming home every night feeling like i've been running into a wall all day... and never being thanked for it.. us superheroes have feelings too u know.. ! i think i might just hang up them ol' superhero boots... i dont want this responsibility any more!!

AWY said...

*ahem ahem...
My bad.. again!

//I meant something on the lines of "the friendly neighbourhood superheroe"...//
Should have been followed by..
..Hence.. you're the friendly neighbourhood piss-you-off-er ...

AWY said...

damn!
*superhero

FifthBeatle said...

anna - so how can the "friendly neighborhood piss-you-off-er" not be "friendly"??

AWY said...

ok. so maybe you are friendly.
But just friendly enough to piss one off later ???

FifthBeatle said...

anna - do u mean like the "set up before the put down"?

Anonymous said...

no wonder you get 21 comments on posts. some people should start using IM. its better. :)

AWY said...

@arnold - Eggjactly..

@kt - uhm.. actually.. we were IM-ing during the whole exchange of comments thing that you noticed above...
lol..

FifthBeatle said...

KT, anna, nina - lol! :D

Makdt said...

here is a quote for you
"sarcasm is the lowest form of wit"

FifthBeatle said...

mak-d - oh! are you sure? i always thought tht was "up yours!"