proverb · Words worth keeping
That's where the laugh comes in.
That's where the laugh comes in.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The phrase points to the part of a situation that makes it amusing. It signals a payoff or irony rather than explaining the joke on its own.
What the words are saying
Where invites attention to a particular detail, while laugh identifies the expected response. Without the surrounding story, the exact humour remains unknown. A useful reading notices how the phrase directs an audience to the contrast or turn that matters. It need not imply everyone should find the same thing funny.
Everyday example
A storyteller reaches the unexpected detail that changes the audience’s understanding of the earlier events.
When to use it
Use it to identify a humorous payoff in a supplied context.
What it does not mean
The phrase alone does not reveal the joke or guarantee an audience’s response.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 922 · Laugh
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English