Many people think they could probably be comedians, if they put their minds to it. This is perhaps mostly wishful thinking, but that doesn’t mean one can’t be pretty funny from time to time even if it isn’t a full time job. So we’ve gathered some of the best examples of people seeing an opportunity for a good joke and taking it.
After all, sometimes the starts just align correctly and one can seize that golden opportunity for a solid joke. Now get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.
#1 I Hate It When Job Interviewers Ask “What Is Your Greatest Strength,” So I Printed Up These Business Cards To Just Hand Out When Asked
#2 Well There Is
#3 Anticipating Questions At Work
Timing is the very backbone of humor, the distinction between a joke that strikes home like a precisely thrown dart and one that falls flatter than a fish on the dock. You can have the funniest punchline in the world, but if you deliver it at the wrong moment, too early, too late, or with the wrong pause, it’s like throwing confetti at a funeral. The words might be clever, but without timing, they just don’t resonate.
Comedy is really about rhythm, almost like music. A good comedian handles a setup and punchline the way a drummer handles a snare and cymbal crash. The audience is waiting for a beat, and when it’s delivered right on cue, or even slightly off in a controlled, artistic way, it’s great. But flub that beat, and the laugh dies. It’s the difference between a room full of people doubled up and having them blink at you silently, wondering if you’re okay.
#4 One Foot In The Grave
#5 The Cutest Criminal There Is
#6 Saw This Clever Rascal While Walking To Work
Think about how many times you’ve heard someone retell a joke they found hilarious, only for it to fall flat because the timing was off. They rushed the setup, or lingered too long before the punchline, or forgot the little pause that lets people anticipate what’s coming. That pause is everything, it’s the comedic inhale before the exhale of laughter. Without it, a joke is like popping a balloon before anyone has noticed it’s there.
#7 For Weeks We’ve Been Having Issues With A Bird Flying Into This Window. My Daughter’s Nicolas Cage Pillow Solved The Problem
It’s actually a flip sequin pillow, and I think they missed a major opportunity by not putting Travolta on the other side of the sequins.
#8 Wife Modified A 5-Year-Old’s Birthday Card For My Brother’s 35th
#9 My Grandma Packs Her Own Bacon Because She Feels Like The Restaurants Never Put Enough On Her BLTs
My grandma said, “I am 83 years old, just let me live my life.”
Even everyday humor relies on timing. Sarcasm, for instance, isn’t so much what you say, it’s when you say it. Respond too quickly, and you just sound grouchy. Take a beat, then nail the line, and now it’s humorous. Same with teasing: if you jump in too fast, you sound nasty. Wait just long enough to show you’re in on the joke with the other individual, and you get laughter instead of awkward silence.
#10 “Tis But A Scratch”
#11 Oh Thank God I’m Saved
#12 Genius
That’s also why humor in text suffers. Online, there’s no pause, no rhythm, no delivery, there are just words on a screen. That’s why people use emojis, or line breaks so much to approximate comedic timing. It’s not that the jokes themselves are worse, it’s just that the humor machinery needs those tiny beats in order to land, and online you have to build them manually.
#13 19 Years Ago Today, On Halloween, This Is How I Announced To My Students And Colleagues That I Was Pregnant
#14 New Policy At The Local Hardware Store
#15 Saw This Garbage Truck In Portland, Oregon
Timing, as ever, is a sensitive issue. Being a hair’s breadth too early or too late makes all the difference. Which is why nervous laughter tends to b**b: someone gets the punchline out too soon, while the setup is still sinking in. Or they hang onto the joke too long, so everyone’s forgotten it in their minds. Timing’s a bit like surfing, you have to catch the wave at the sweet spot. Miss it, and you’re just a person standing there with a surfboard, looking foolish.
#16 My Window C*****d So I Fixed It The Only Way I Know How
#17 Good Advice
#18 Trojan Horse Birthday Cake
My friend and I have been passing a bottle of Rumple Mintz back and forth for a couple of years, secretly hiding it at the others house. Today he dropped off a birthday cake but didn’t have time to hang out and eat a piece.
And then there’s the chaos of group humor. Ever notice how a joke told at the right moment in a conversation gets everyone roaring, but the exact same joke five minutes later just sounds stale? That’s because humor is as much about context as content. A good joke in the wrong place is worse than no joke at all because it converts what might have been humorous into a social blunder. The incorrect joke at the right time, nevertheless, may still k**l because the timing aligns with the mood of the moment.
#19 I’ve Been Waiting 9 Months For A Coworker To Ride His Harley To Work So I Could Do This
#20 There Is A Tile Moved At Work For Some Reason. It’s Been Moved For About Two Weeks. I Decided To Have Fun With It
It’s my friend’s office. I’ve heard nothing but positive reactions so far today.
#21 She Said She Wanted A Man Of The Streets… I Said “Baby I Am The Streets”
Finally, timing is important in humor because laughter isn’t merely a matter of words, it’s a matter of surprise and release. People laugh when they’re surprised in just the right way. Timing is what provides that surprise, what raises the tension and then bursts it like a bubble. Without it, jokes are simply sentences. With it, they’re magic.
#22 It’s Power Rangers Time
#23 What My Local Coffee Shop Calls Matcha
#24 Please
So comedians do practice timing obsessively, down to the millisecond. But even outside of stand-up, we all work on comedic timing, knowingly or not. Every funny story, every sarcastic remark, every teasing joke depends on those tiny pauses and perfect beats. It’s proof that humor isn’t always what you say, it’s when you say it. And when you get it right, the timing doesn’t just bring laughs, it makes the moment unforgettable.
#25 This Dill Pizza Dough Branding
#26 Pretending To Be A Sophisticated, Tea-Drinking Adult While In A Zoom Meeting, When Really
I don’t even think anyone’s paying attention.
#27 Local Doughnut Shop Has Some Jokes
#28 I Guess Divorce Parties Are A Thing Now?
#29 Taylor Swift Fan Hides Identity Because She Called In Sick To Work
#30 No More Christmas Wrapping Supplies At The Store, So My Daughter Made With Stock On Hand
#31 A Little Gift For The New Owners
This is Aaron our family skeleton that has been around for years. Since we are moving he decided to stay and give a warm welcome to the next family to live in our house. He insisted on heading up into the garage attic to wait for their arrival. We wish him luck and hopes they find him as enjoyable as we have.
#32 Our Office Manager Left For Vacation Last Week And Came Back To This Today
#33 Wife Is Not Impressed With Her New Designer Hambag
#34 My Son Thinks He Is Hilarious – Told Him To Stack The Dishes In The Sink
#35 The Lock On Our Bathroom Door In The Break Room At Work
#36 I’m About To Become Omniscient. Wish Me Luck
#37 The McPerfect McDonald’s Order
I’ll add Beyonce’s XO for hugs and kisses.
#38 My Christmas Pillow Doubles As Valentine’s Day Decor
Accidentally put my Christmas pillow upside down, and I love it.
#39 My Husband Ian Insisted That Our New Puppy Nala Get Her Own Stocking. I Thought It Was Sweet Until I Realized He Had Ulterior Motives
#40 I Heard Giggling In The Kitchen And My Kids Were Huddled Around Our Lemonade. This Was Their Attempt To Pull A Prank On Me
They’re now laughing hysterically and asking, “May I please have some lem- I mean, may I please have some pee to drink?”
#41 Sign At The Nursery
So go right ahead, am I right?
#42 My Friends Made Sure I Didn’t Leave Last Night From The Halloween Party
Now I’m learning how to put on a tire.
#43 There’s A Gap In The Cabinets Because Of An Angled Sink. Countertops Get Installed On Monday
#44 Wife Left Me Alone With The Kids For The First Time And After Asking For An Update I Sent Her This
#45 Much Better
#46 One Of My Co-Workers’ House Was “Rocked” Last Night. He Ran Out Of His House To Chase The Kids That Did It But They Fled, Leaving Their Scooter Behind
This is what he did with the scooter this morning. He actually considered welding it to the pole, but in casual conversation with the police (they’re quite laid back here) they politely ‘suggested’ that wasn’t such a good idea.
#47 I Took This Picture In 2017, So These Rules May No Longer Apply
#48 Witty Profile
#49 My Brother Turns 30 Tomorrow. This Is What He’s Unwrapping vs. What I’ll Bring Out Once He Realizes
#50 My Wife Refused To Eat Her Pear’s Thic Booty
My friend also said I should name my pear Fiona…
#51 This Vandalized McDonald’s Billboard In Glasgow
This used to be an advert for the McDonald’s Big Arch burger, but now it’s for something much more appealing.
#52 I’m About To Spray My New Kitchen Cabinets
That was when I pre-primed all of my crown. I’m replacing the driveway anyways. The booth isn’t to stop paint from going everywhere, it’s to stop dust from getting on the cabinets.
#53 Someone Put This Motion-Activated Sticker On The Paper Towels At Work That Are In Fact Not Motion Activated
#54 Came With My Wife To Her Gynecologist Appointment, At Least She’s Honest
#55 One Bowl Of Internet Please
#56 Jesus Is “Not” Always The Answer?
#57 My Boss Told Me I Wasn’t Ready To Make Sushi Yet, So I Made A Hot Dog
#58 I Think I’m Going To Like This Sequel Better Than The Original
#59 I Put A Couple Layers Of Boot Polish On One Of My Coworker’s Boots Every Day He Was On Vacation… One Of His Boots
#60 Squirrel
#61 Pharmacy Technician Gave Up
#62 Breaking My Ankle Hasn’t Lessen My Genius Humour
#63 Saw My Opportunity, No Regrets
#64 I Got Charged A “B**ching Fee”
I ordered a Miller Lite and she walked up to my table while opening a Bud Light for me. I wasn’t even going to complain, but my friend spoke up forcing me point out her mistake.
#65 This Is My Mom
#66 Saw This On The Way Home. Cybertruck Who?
#67 Nerd Humor Comes Differently Because Someone Has To Explain It First
#68 Wife Is Terrified Of Slugs, Woke To This Note
“Scary slug infiltrated. Hid him near the trolley under a pile of salt under a glass bowl. Very sorry, but could you deal with it?”
I sadly dealt with it before posting.