In-joke: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Esoteric form of humor}}

An in-joke is a joke whose humour is only clear to those people who are "in" a group which has some prior knowledge (not known by the whole population) which makes the joke thus humerous. The group of people could be just a few people who work together, or residents of a particular town, or people who watch a particular television series or whatever.

{{Redirect|Inside jokes|television series|Inside Jokes (TV series)}}

{{Infobox joke

| image = Eugen von Blaas - Secrets.jpg

|caption= ''Secret'', by Eugen von Blaas

| alt = Two people whisper a secret a short distance away from someone who is kept from knowing.

| type = Esoteric

| nickname = {{flatlist|

* in-joke

* inside joke

* private joke

}}

}}

An '''in-joke''', also known as an '''inside joke''' or a '''private joke''', is a [[joke]] with [[humour]] that is understandable only to members of an [[ingroup]]; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest. It is, therefore, an [[wikt:esoteric|esoteric]] joke, only humorous to those who are aware of the circumstances behind it.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |title=Inside joke Definition & Meaning |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inside%20joke |date=April 14, 2023| access-date=June 2, 2023}}</ref>

Typically, inside jokes use a reference in the punchline to imply that which is associated with the reference. Often, this reference refers to the punchline of another joke which was already heard by the ingroup.

In-jokes may exist within a small social clique, such as a group of friends, or extend to an entire profession or other relatively large group. When the ingroup only includes people which heard the previous portion of a comedic set, the type of inside joke is known as a [[Callback (comedy)|callback]].

An example is:

::Q: What's yellow and equivalent to the [[axiom of choice]]?

::A: Zorn's lemon.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vanderbilt University Department of Mathematics |date=February 5, 2019 |title=What's Yellow and Equivalent to the Axiom of Choice? |url=https://as.vanderbilt.edu/math/2019/02/talk-title-tba-292/}}</ref>

Individuals not familiar with the mathematical result [[Zorn's lemma]] are unlikely to understand the joke. The joke is a [[pun]] on the name of this result.

Ethnic or religious groups may also have in-jokes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/tm_headline%3Dare-the-welsh-really-funny-%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D17932085%26siteid%3D50082-name_page.html |title=Wales Online: "Are the Welsh Really Funny?", 14 October 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2012. |access-date=5 September 2020 |archive-date=18 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718151752/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/tm_headline%3Dare-the-welsh-really-funny-%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D17932085%26siteid%3D50082-name_page.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Philosophy==

In-jokes are cryptic allusions to shared common ground that act as selective triggers; only those who share that common ground are able to respond appropriately.<ref>{{cite book|title=Communication and Group Decision Making|author=Randy Y. Hirokawa and [[Marshall Scott Poole]]|pages=96|year=1996|publisher=Sage Publications Inc|isbn=076190462X}}</ref> An in-joke may be used to build community, sometimes at the expense of outsiders. Part of the power of an in-joke is that its audience knows that many do not understand it.<ref>{{cite book|title=Who Rides the Beast?: Prophetic Rivalry and the Rhetoric of Crisis in the Churches of the Apocalypse|author=Paul Brooks Duff|pages=81|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=019513835X}}</ref>

An in-joke can also be used as a [[subtext]], where people in the know may find humor in something not explicitly spoken. They may even apologize for doing so to a [[rookie]], directly or indirectly stating that what they were laughing at was an in-joke.<ref>{{cite book|title=Acting Your Dreams: Use Acting Techniques to Interpret Your Dreams|author=Ben Tousey|pages=118&ndash;119|year=2003|publisher=Ben Tousey|isbn=1-4140-0542-3}}</ref>

==See also==

*[[Shibboleth]]

*[[Cultural appropriation]]

*[[Fictitious entry]]

*[[Mathematical joke]]

*[[Military humor]]

*[[Order of the Occult Hand]]

*[[Dog-whistle politics]]

==References==

{{wiktionary|inside joke}}

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

*{{Commonscatinline|In-jokes}}

{{Appropriation in the Arts}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:In-Joke}}

[[Category:In-jokes| ]]

[[Category:Humor research]]

[[de:Witz#Insiderwitz]]

[[sv:Humor#Internskämt]]

[[ja:内輪ネタ]]