Do you know what are the funniest words in English? Here you will learn about them, and why comedians use them strategically, even out of context, to make audiences laugh.
Countless lists of the most beautiful words in each language have already appeared, now it is the turn of the funniest ones, those that are able to make us laugh because of their sonority and even their meaning.
At Lingua Language Center, we want our English students to enjoy every curiosity of the language, and learn it while having fun, either from any of our locations in the state of Florida or through our online course platform. The method we apply works in any case.
The funniest words in English
Here are the words that, for one reason or another, are considered the funniest in the English language. We hope you enjoy them…
Badger
It refers to the animal called badger, that nocturnal omnivorous mammal of the weasel family. It is also used to refer to a person who insistently asks another person to do something.
Apart from its alternative usage, Americans find this word funny because of its resemblance to bodger.
Phalanges
It is a military infantry formation characterized by the closeness between soldiers. In the late 1990s, the word became popular in the United States when Phoebie, a character from Friends, invented that the phalanx of an airplane was broken. When the flight attendant said the plane had no phalanges, the passengers left the flight before takeoff saying: “It doesn’t even have phalanges!
Since then, the word phalange has made millions of people laugh.
Nincompoop
This word is an insult that means dumb. The origin of the word apparently has to do with Nicodemus, a Pharisee who asked Jesus seemingly naive questions.
Today, English speakers around the world consider Nincompoop to be too funny an insult to offend anyone.
Malarkey
A meaningless word to describe something that makes no sense either, i.e. nonsense, nonsense…
Gubbings
It is a word that has more than 400 years of presence in English. Its meaning is “miscellaneous items”, and native English speakers find it funny because of the peculiar pronunciation it requires.
Goggle
Unlike the world’s leading search engine, in this word the g-word is double and not the o-word. Goggle means surprised look, but also refers to tight-fitting glasses with side shields for wide-eyed gazing.
Gnarly
In the world of extreme sports, it refers to something difficult to do, such as a pirouette or a certain feat.
The funny thing about this word is that it is often used as sarcasm, for something that is very difficult to do but at the same time unnecessary.
Canoodle
It is as funny as it is unpleasant for young people. Canoodle is the word used by grandmothers and great-grandmothers until the 1980s to define the act of lovingly kissing and hugging.
Brouhaha
It is a noisy, overexcited, and exaggerated reaction to something. By itself, the word is funny because of its cacophony, and it also includes laughter at the end: “haha”.
Bodacious
This is how you call someone or something fabulous, remarkable, attractive… For Americans, it is a funny word because it reminds them of Jeff Spicoli, a character played by Sean Penn, in a 1982 movie.
Bamboozle
This means “to deceive by underhanded methods”.
The word is very funny because it makes us imagine a person saying it with an evil face, before committing the deception; or someone with a sad face after having been the victim.
Shenanigans
It is a secret activity you do against another person. But the word is so funny that it is often taken as a synonym for a harmless joke.
If you found these words funny, wait until you learn English completely and have first-rate access to the language’s sense of humor, which is almost completely different from what you have experienced in your native language.
Contact us! At Lingua Language Center, we are ready to give you all the information you need to enroll in our next English program.