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In other words, in the large number of cultural exports in the UK, British humor may be very high.
At least Chinese the word humor is derived from the English word humour.
As a result, British comedy is also unique. British comedy not only jokes about the background of the story and the personality of the characters, but also prefers to joke about culture, history, celebrities and themselves.
That's why when watching British comedy and getting laughs, we often think that their jokes are particularly advanced.
However, the legendary British humor is actually loved by people in many countries but often complained about. It is common for foreigners not to get their jokes.
So are British jokes cold or not?
Irony is the key to British humor
It's human nature to like to complain. But other humans may say it directly, and the British like to say the opposite to satire.
For example, the Legend has it that the British like to talk about the weather. Not because the weather is too good, but because the weather is always bad. But they also don't directly say how bad the weather is, but in other words, they spit it out.
Another classic case is the British supermodel Cara Delevigne, who has transformed into an actress, was asked in an interview with the American media after filming the film adaptation of the novel", Paper Town, whether she had read the novel before shooting.
Because she felt that the problem was too obvious, she showed her British nature and directly satirized it:
I haven't read the book or the script, I just did it by chance.
The culturally conflicting interview was later featured in both the British and American media.
When the British are sarcastic, they often only refresh themselves, and they often feel that they are humorous. The British could understand each other because they knew it was their irrepressible impulse. But this can easily offend foreigners.
So, if you think the British don't offend people, it's a complete misunderstanding. They just like to be sarcastic, to bury others around the bend, and then to be complacent.
If you suddenly find yourself being ridiculed by an Englishman a few days ago, don't worry too much, they often just take every opportunity to cool themselves.
Self-blackness is the soul of British humor
After all, black others can't let British humor out of the circle, only black himself is the essence of British humor.
For the most decent Britons, it is unacceptable to boast about themselves (unless at the same time they are being sarcastic).
Black yourself but you can do it. This can include all aspects of yourself – accent, age, stature, baldness, strange names, and so on.
Of course, if you want to be black, you can't just black yourself, but also your own kind, especially the British themselves.
So when they mock the British to foreigners, it is called self-blackness; when they mock certain British people to the British, it is called irony.
And because they especially like to blacken everything about the British, including British humor. As a result, they often blackened themselves to the fact that the British liked to satirize others.
Moreover, unlike ridicule, self-blackness is always a joke about oneself. An Englishman will understand that another Englishman is blackmailing himself, not self-deprecating, and thus appreciates the other person's sense of humor, confidence and humility, and no one will be embarrassed by it.
In fact, studies have shown that many people think that British self-deprecation is the sexiest of all kinds of humor.
Subtlety is a sign of British humor
The British have a habit of not showing their emotions easily. Not only do they not exaggerate facts and emotions, they even try to downplay things as much as possible.
They especially like to use very subtle words or phrases, such as a bit, rather, quite, etc.
If they want to say something very good, they will probably only say not bad.
If they want to ask you out for a drink and plan not to get drunk, they will at most say Let's go out for a pint.
Therefore, when they are joking, they will also take this feature into account by the way.
A very classic example is that there is a scene in the film of Monty Python, a comedy group that the British like to talk about history:
The Black Knight's arm was cut off, and then he said: Tis but a scratch (just a little scratch).
Is British humor funny or not?
Brits are proud of their sense of humor.
One of the shows at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics was the british comedy band mentioned above to sing a song called Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, which sparked a chorus.
This seemingly inspirational song is actually from the end of Monty Python's famous satirical comedy "The Magic Star". The male protagonist was crucified after a series of inexplicable events waiting to be executed, at this time, the other crucified people present began to inexplicably sing this song that looked so optimistic, ironical to the extreme.
But even on occasions like the Olympics, the British couldn't resist singing this britishly humorous song, regardless of whether other foreigners understood the meaning.
At the same time, an important part of British humor is self-blackening. Therefore, the British should also laugh at their sense of humor when showing their sense of humor. Not only do they like to laugh at themselves, they also like to joke with people they know very well. They will see this as an expression of love.
However, not people of every culture like to be joked about. And when people don't know that they're actually kidding you because they think they know you well, it's easy to be offended.
In addition, British jokes are often too subtle or even obscure, and you can't even hear them joking, and certainly don't think it's funny.
As for the object of British humor, it is often based on people or things that everyone knows, such as the always bad weather, or the obvious baldness that they always laugh at themselves, or some common-sense culture or event.
Therefore, when watching British comedy, if you do not know enough about their culture, history, customs or social events, you will often not be able to keep up with the rhythm.
And on a daily basis, it may take a few days for your British friend to react to the fact that your British friend was joking. Not even a cold joke.
But it doesn't matter, as long as you don't take it too seriously, they will at least be complacent when the joke is over.