One-Liner
A "one-liner" is a short joke that is self-contained and doesn't need any development. Henny Youngman, a mid-20th-Century comedian was known as the "King of the One-Liners," with his most famous one being, "Take my wife...please."
How It's Used
“A large proportion of the surviving fables are not only jokes, but are even what we call today ‘one-liners’.” —Robert Temple in his introduction to Aesop, The Complete Fables, translated by Olivia and Robert Temple, (New York: Penguin Books, 1998), p. xi. “In order to make those Brooksian gags work, you need a mighty Max—an actor who can hold the audience's attention for the better part of three hours, land the show's one-liners and sell the grueling 11 o'clock production number ('Betrayed').” —Jesse McKinley, “The Case of the Incredible Shrinking Blockbuster,” The New York Times, November 2, 2003. “For one thing, there are no laugh tracks, musical cues or snappy one-liners. 'The Office' is all deadpan humor, as dry as 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' more slyly absurdist than 'Arrested Development.' In spirit and satirical humor, it is perhaps closest to the 1984 mock rock 'n' roll documentary 'This Is Spinal Tap.’” —Alessandra Stanley, “An American-Style ‘Office’ with a Boss from Heck,” The New York Times, March 24, 2005. “On the whole, however, ‘Taking the Long Way’ is long on formal beauty and short on concrete details and taut one-liners.” —Sasha Frere-Jones, “Making Nice: The Dixie Chicks’ new album,” The New Yorker, May 1, 2006, p. 89. “There's no better one-liner in all moviedom than the one uttered [in 'Dr. Strangelove'] by Peter Sellers's President Merkin Muffley: 'Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!'” —Joe Morgenstern, “Larger Than Life,” The Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2007, p. P9. Links Related on eAlmanac
Double Entendre
Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on One-Liners
Oneliners-and-Proverbs.com
Wordnik entry on One-Liners
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