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alt title(s): Inherently Funny Word "Fifty-seven years in this business, you learn a few things. You know what words are funny and which words are not funny. Alka-Seltzer is funny. You say 'Alka-Seltzer', you get a laugh...Words with 'k' in them are funny. Casey Stengel, that's a funny name. Robert Taylor is not funny. Cupcake is funny. Tomato is not funny. Cookie is funny. Cucumber is funny. Car keys. Cleveland...Cleveland is funny. Maryland is not funny. Then, there's chicken. Chicken is funny. Pickle is funny."
- Neil Simon, The Sunshine Boys
"[...] I'm at home, sitting in front of my computer in my underwear, trying to decide which animal name is funnier, 'hamster' or 'gerbil.'" ("Answer: 'weasel.'")
- Dave Barry, introduction to Boogers Are My Beat
Fact: Whether by pronunciation, spelling, or use, some words are just plain funny. List your favorite Inherently Funny Words here!
Warning: Do not use any of these words to try to make an unfunny sentence funny. Doing so will just accelerate the Dead-Horseification of the used word.
See also Narm, which is what happens when Inherently Funny Words crop up in inherently unfunny contexts.
Examples:
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Words With an "oo" Sound
- albumen ( Look Around You: "Watch out for the new albumen- it's out now")
- bamboozle
- bassoon (including Shatner's bassoon)
- baboon
- bazooka
- behoove
- beluga
- bewildered
- bloop
- booby
- boob
- boogaloo (particularly electric ones)
- booger
- boondoggle is probably worth two. It probably had a real meaning once, but is now only ever heard in the context of political messes.
- boop
- booty
- Broo (Broos themselves aren't very funny, though)
- Bugenhagen
- caboose
- cahoots
- canoodle
- canoe
- chartreuse
- cockadoodie
- cock-a-doodle-doo
- Cthulhu
- cuckoo
- didgeridoo
- discombobulated
- dude (or perhaps dood)
- doodad
- doodle
- doofus
- doohickey
- doom
- doot
- doozy
- duty
- floozy
- Fool
- Froot Loops
- goo goo g'joob (from I Am the Walrus)
- goober
- goop
- gubernatorial (the 'u' is pronounced as 'oo')
- Smoot-Hawley Tariff
- hoopla
- Humpty Doo, Australia
- indubitably
- kazoo
- koo koo ka choo (from Mrs. Robinson)
- kook
- loo
- loofah
- ludicrous
- lutefisk (LOO-da-fisk: a gelatinous fish product enjoyed by Norwegians on Christmas.)
- Luftwaffe
- That one is actually pronounced with a short "u" not "oo"
- macaroon
- moo
- moon
- moose (including møøse)
- ...and, by extension, Moose Jaw, SK
- or Moose Factory ON. Yeah, Canada has some funny place names...
- Not to mention mousse.
- noodle
- nincompoop
- nougat
- oo, ooo, OOO, ooooo, OOo (but not oooo)
- Ood
- Note Rose Tyler's comically exaggerated "An odd Ood..."
- Ook
- oomph
- oops
- Ouagadougou
- patoot/patootie
- picaroon
- picayune
- poltroon
- poo, poop
- "Poop" is the only word in the English language that is funny in absolutely any context. No, really. It's been scientifically proven. Twice. In every language.
- Naturally; science requires replication for proof. Luckily, poop is inherently easy for humans to replicate.
- "Poo Nugget" cannot be used while maintaining a straight face, try it.
- Proof, bitches - Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia, a show known for its willingness to use the word "shit", has an episode in its fourth season called "Who Pooped the Bed?", where "shit" is scarcely used. "Poop" is funny. Lampshaded, even.
- Try "poo gas", a la Freakazoid
- Earth Bound has a character NAMED Poo. It's hard not to break out laughing in the middle of serious moments because of this. Probably they got some Narm in our RPG...
- Pooh anyone?
- Dammit, man what more evidence do you need? The poo-pooing alone is a court-martial offense!
- And how could we forget Poopie?
- Poopiewuffen
- Agent Mulder's reference to a 'Poo-storm' in the censored in-flight version of the X-Files movie. Originally 'shit-storm,' whoever did the voiceover intentionally overemphasized the POO.
- Zoosmell Pooplord
- poopie suit
- poodle
- poon
- poontang
- Pooka
- pope
- potato
- protuberance
- prune
- puce
- punanny
- ratatouille
- rutabaga (often cited in cartoons when the name of a vegetable is needed for this very reason)
- scruples
- SCUBA
- shadoof - Yes, this word actually exists. It's a sort of small crane for lifting water.
- Shih Tzu
- snu snu - even better when you find out what it means
- snickerdoodle
- spittoon
- spoon
- spoot
- Timbuktu
- Tooting Bec
- Clapham Common
- Cockfosters. As in "This is a Piccadilly Line train to Cockfosters."
- Finchley Road and Frognal
- Bromley-By-Bow
- Mornington Crescent
- tuba
- tube
- Tuesday (when a random day of the week needs to be referenced in a comedic line, it's usually Tuesday.)
- tutu
- Uboa (though the man himself is either Nightmare Fuel or hilarious, depending on who you ask).
- unununium
- uterus (uter-you! uter-me! ...Okay, I'm done.)
- voodoo
- wahoonie
- Whiffenpoof
- Whoops
- woodchuck
- Woolloomooloo
- Woobie. Seriously, just try and say it with a straight face.
- zeeky boogy doog
- zoo
- zucchini
Celebrity Names
- Anurag Dikshit. I swear this is a real person. Google it.
- Barack Hussein Obama
- Barkevious Mingo. Winner of 2009's Name of the year (have a look around that site, while you're at it).
- Bear Grylls
- Bhumibol Adulyadej
- Bill Boner, former mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Do not ask about the campaign signs he once used.
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Bonar Law (who did not enact legislation prohibiting public erections, but it would have been even funnier if he had)
- Bono - even his given name, Paul Hewson, is funny.
- Brad Pitt, at least to some of us.
- Bram Moolenaar, creator of the Vim text editor.
- Bristol Palin
- Bruce Boxleitner
- Bruce Cockburn
- Boutros-Boutros Ghali
- Chuck Mangione, as demonstrated by King Of The Hill
- Chuck Norris
- Clive Staples Lewis (even he hated it and preferred "Jack")
- Baseball player Coco Crisp
- Not sure if it counts because he's fictional, but Palpatine (in addition to having a funny name) was originally named Cos Dashit.
- Craig Killmaster
- Dan Aykroyd
- Darren Puppa. An ESPN announcer once referred to this NHL's goaltender's glove as the "Puppa Scoopa"
- David Hooner (see the "oo" rule).
- Dick Assman
- Dick Armey
- Dick Bona
- Dick Butkus
- As exploited frequently by MST3K, which would sometimes have riffs to the tune of "don't forget your Dick Butkus collector's plate!" during a scene at a gas station.
- Dick Hymen
- Cincinnati Reds pitching coach Dick Pole
- Ex-IOC vice-president and ex-President of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Dick Pound.
- NASCAR driver Dick Trickle
- Dick Van Dyke
- Donald Trump
- Dudley Manlove
- Engelbert Humperdinck. I dare you to say it with a straight face.
- Relatedly, Zingelbert Bembledack, Yingybert Dambleban, Zangelbert Bingledack, Wingelbert Humptyback, Slup ben Walla, Kringelbert Fishtybuns, Steviebuns Bottrittrundle, Tringelbert Wangledack, Klingybun Fistelvase, Dindlebert Zindledack, Engelbert Humptyback, Zengelbert Bingledack, Vingelbert Wingledanck...
- Esa-Pekka Salonen
- Fair Hooker, a '70s NFL wide receiver.
- Forrest Tucker
- Forrest Gump
- Fred Fuchs
- Funk & Wagnalls, as both Dick Martin and Ed McMahon will attest.
- Gloria Estefan
- Guido van Rossum (inventer of the Python programming language)
- Guy Mann-Dude
- Hakan Loob
- Han Hoogerbrugge (OO phonetic)
- Hedy Lamarr (see "Hedy LaRue" from How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and "Hedley Lamarr" from Blazing Saddles, not to mention the pet headcrab in Half Life 2)
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Brilliant poet with the name of a porn star.
- Hilary Rodham Clinton
- Ima Hogg
- Jack Fightmaster
- Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh
- Jensen Ackles, at least at first. His name sounds like a law firm.
- Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, Britain's Chief of The Defence Staff and owner of the greatest name ever.
- Joey Buttafuoco
- John Stamos
- Larry Csonka, football great, as used to marvelous effect in "The Final Sacrifice", an episode of MST3K: "He just finished his exhaustive, 4 volume biography of Larry Csonka!".
- Lemmy
- Mansa Musa
- Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch
- Matthew Gray Gubler
- Michael Jackson
- According to Lewis Black, if you forget the punchline to a joke, all you have to do is say "Michael Jackson": "Two Jews walk into a bar ... Michael Jackson! Why did the chicken cross the road? Michael Jackson! Knock knock! Who's there? MICHAEL JACKSON!"
- "Hey, did you hear who just died? Michael Jackson, haw haw!"
- You do not use "Michael Jackson" with the words "nose" or "plastic surgery" in a sentence. (Some people have trouble with that even after he died.)
- Mickey Rourke
- Mike Huckabee
- Mike Hunt (Green Bay Packers linebacker)
- Mike Litoris◊
- Misha Collins
- Orlando Jones
- Oingo Boingo
- Paul Anka
- Pat Buttram
- Patrick Kilpatrick
- Pelham Grenville Wodehouse
- Peter Stormare
- His birth name was Peter Ingvar Rolf Storm. He's awesome, but he should've become a supervillain with that name.
- Pia Zadora
- Pieter Botha
- Radek Bonk
- Richard Braine
- Ron Stuart!
- Ron Tugnutt
- Rowsdower. Zap Rowsdower
- Rusty Kuntz, former Major League Baseball player
- Splapp-Me-Do
- Skip Hinnant (of The Electric Company and Fritz the Cat fame.)
- Skwisgaar Skwigelf
- Sonny Tufts
- Spanky DeBrest (Seriously. He was in Art Blakey's band.)
- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (President of Indonesia; his name sounds especially funny in Russian)
- The Von Trapp Family
- Walter Mondale
- Wim Kok (former Dutch prime minister)
- Y. A. Tittle
- Yelnick McWaWa
- Yo-Yo Ma
- Yoko Ono (Oh, no!)
- Any of the Zappas but especially Dweezil
- ZaSu Pitts
- Zsa Zsa Gabor
- Chances are almost any group of attorneys-at-law that get advertised in your area will have hilarious names.
Given Names
- Abernathy
- Albert
- Algernon
- Aloysius
- Archibald
- Bert, or Bertram
- Bertha
- The ever-classic Bob
- Caboose. Actually his last name, but his full name is Michael J. Caboose. Though, Grif might be funnier.
- Donnie. Please.
- Cos Dashit, the original name for the equally funny-named Emperor Palpatine.
- Dora, particularly when combined with allusions to 'explorer'.
- Dorcas
- Durwood
- Dwayne
- Jerome
- Gregor (is a weird name)
- Elmer
- Ernie
- Ethelbert
- Eugene
- Ezekiel
- Filbert
- Fillmore
- Flaherty
- Garth
- Gaylord
- Gladys
- Hans (especially in the context of "Ach! Hans, run! It's the lhurgoyf!")
- Hortense
- Hubert
- Jeff
- Jehosephat
- Jethro
- Lester
- Logan
- Louise
- Lucie Ascam
- Lulu
- Maynard
- Morag
- Morton
- Oonagh
- Rutigar
- Seymour
- Sheldon
- Stan
- Strunk
- Tarquin, the metonym of pretentious child-naming.
- Waldo, Wally (particularly when combined with allusions to "where's")
- Walter (especially when combined with Sobchak)
- Wilberforce
- Bathsheba
- Elvendork (it's unisex!)
- Woody
- Tiesenhausen
- Phinneas
- Thaddeus
- Hank
- Surname example: Snodgrass.
Animal Names
- It doesn't hurt if the animals are inherently funny, too.
- aardvark
- anemone
- badger
- axolotl
- banana slug.
- beaver
- bees
- blue-footed boobies (a kind of bird)
- blue-tongued skink (a type of lizard).
- boll weevil
- buffalo
- bullshih. This is what the offspring of a Shih-Tzu and a bulldog is actually called.
- chachalaca
- chicken
- coelacanth (See-la-canth)
- cow (Gary Larson said so)
- crab
- dickey-bird
- dik dik (A type of antelope. Adam Sessler once made a Catch Phrase out of it).
- dingo
- duck
- Scientifically proven to be true in most languages - duck jokes even translate well even when they rely on language-specific puns.
- dung beetle
- elephant
- emu
- goats
- gopher
- gnu
- herring
- iguana
- kangaroo
- kiwi
- koala (especialy if they come from Koala Walla Land.)
- llama. It's got to be the double L.
- lobster
- manatee
- mandrill (a kind of old-world monkey; separate the two words with a hyphen for full effect)
- marmot
- mongoose
- monkey
- Even more inherently funny than duck. Especially when used as an Adjective. Go ahead, add the word "monkey" to any verb or non-proper noun you can think of.
- So, what about "duck-monkey"?
- It's also useable as a handy verb. Or an expletive. Especially as an expletive.
- moose (...once bit my sister...)
- narwhal
- ocelot, according to Greg Proops
- Proops is quite the funny name too.
- otter. Try inserting it into an average sentence.
- penguin
- pig
- platypus
- polliwog
- pony
- Pudu. This is a real creature (look it up!), the world's smallest deer. Scientific name? Pudu Pudu.
- sheep (known to blow up real baaaaaad)
- SNAAAAKE!!
- sperm whale
- squid
- titmouse
- turtle
- walrus
- weasel (one of Dave Barry's favorite words)
- wombat (actually a very dangerous animal, but a funny name to be sure)
- yak
- Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
Place Names
- Whose Line Is It Anyway lampshaded a whole string of this in one session of Scenes From a Hat, when the suggestion "Cities that shouldn't have a song about them" came up:
Jeff: Who wants an Oxnard? I do! I do!
Ryan: (with a stoned look on his face) What's the matter with Weed?
- Abu Dhabi, hence its abuse in Garfield comics.
- Albuquerque, NM
- Not only Weird Al, Bugs Bunny knew it was funny ("I knew I should've taken a left turn at Albuquerque.") Made funnier by his Brooklyn accent that toined it into Albecoikie.
- It even shows up in a Halo fanfic, of all places, narrated by a Covenant Elite: "...we had landed on the UNSCDF orbital platform Albuquerque. I had no idea which was more bizarre: The platform's name, which tied my mandibles in knots..."
- Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Baden-Baden, Germany
- Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
- Bangkok, Thailand
- which is just down the road from Phuket
- Oh, and its ceremonial name? *deep breath* Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathon Amon Piwan Awatan Sathit Sakkathatiya Witsanukam Prasit. Longest place name in the world, people! (For those curious, it means "The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous royal palace that resembles the heavenly abode where above reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarm".)
- Belchertown, MA
- Belgium
- Big Bone Lick State Park, Kentucky
- Located near the towns of Beaver Lick and Rabbit Hash...
- Heck, "Kentucky" itself becomes somewhat funny after saying it enough times.
- Blue Ball Lane, Surrey
- Boogardie, WA, Australia
- Botswana
- Bora Bora
- Bruce Rock, WA, Australia
- Bundaberg, QLD, Australia
- Cape Horn. If you don't get it, just yell "I really like Cape Horn!" really loudly and quickly in front of all your friends.
- Chicken, AK
- So named because they couldn't spell Ptarmigan.
- Clitheroe, Lancashire, England (the middle syllable is pronounced like "the", but still)
- Cockburn Town, capital city of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
- Cocklebiddy, WA, Australia
- Cox Bight, TAS, Australia
- Cuba, Missouri
- Cucamonga, CA (Animated characters are required by law to pronounce it "KOO... kaMUNga!")
- The full name is "Rancho Cucamonga", which might be even funnier.
- Cut and Shoot, TX. No, really.
- Czechoslovakia
- Denial Bay, SA, Australia (I have no idea why)
- Dildo, Newfoundland, Canada
- Diss, Norfolk, England
- Djibouti (congratulations, you just laughed at thousands of starving people.)
- Dnepropetrovsk, Russia
- Dooomadgee, QLD, Australia (yes, with three o's, I checked)
- Fernando Poo (see entry above on "poo")
- Floyds Knobs, Indiana, USA
- And in the same state, French Lick.
- Flippin, Arkansas, USA
- Fucking, Austria; which had problems with British tourists stealing their signs.
- Great Cockup and Little Cockup. These are the genuine names of two hills in England.
- Both are near the town of Cockermouth, which itself belongs on the list.
- Guadalajara, Mexico (this is funnier to Spanish speakers than English, mind you.)
- Guam
- Hahatonka State Park (in the Ozarks in Missouri)
- Ha Ha Road, London
- Hamtramck, Michigan
- Happy Valley Goose Bay. Happy. Valley. Goose. Bay.
- Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Canada
- So called because First Nations hunters used to chase buffalo off the cliff.
- Dave Barry: "I have called the centre, and when they answer the phone, they say, very politely—I absolutely swear this is true—'Head-Smashed-In, may I help you?'"
- Hell, Michigan (which does tend to freeze over in the winter)
- Hialeah, Florida (Bells Are Ringing has Handel's Hialeah Chorus)
- Hooker County, Nebraska
- Humptulips, WA. (Yes, it's said like you think.)
- Illibilli, Sudan (which is also the longest palindromic place name)
- Intercourse, Pennsylvania, right around Amish country.
- In case you didn't know, Intercourse is right near some other towns named Gap, Bird-in-Hand, Paradise, and Blue Ball. I'll let your dirty mind fill in the rest.
- Don't forget Virginville, PA!
- Idaho
- Islamabad, Pakistan
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming
- Kalamazoo, Michigan (that "zoo" is the crucial syllable is ably demonstrated by the song "I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo")
- Ironically, there is no zoo in Kalamazoo. There is, however, an aircraft museum called the "Air Zoo".
- Kazakhstan
- Kennebunkport, Maine
- If we're doing unusual Native American-derived town names, try this: Mooselookmeguntic, ME.
- Heck, half of Maine towns, rivers, etc.
- Or how about Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg? (Allegedly it means "I fish on my side, you fish on your side, nobody fish in the middle," but that's just an urban myth from the 1920s.)
- Keokuk, Iowa
- Kiek in de Kök, Tallinn, Estonia
- Kush (now known as the much less funny "Sudan")
- Lake Minnetonka
- Lake Okeechobee
- Lake Titicaca
- To the point where Animaniacs had an entire song about it - just because, as the Warners put it "we really like saying its name!"
- Lake Winnipesaukee (What About Bob)
- Loachapoka, Alabama (another real place, pronounced "low-cha-POKE-ah")
- Lucky Slap, Angus, Scotland
- Medicine Hat, Canada
- Meat Camp, North Carolina
- Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Monkey Mia, WA, Australia
- Moose Factory, Canada
- Moose Lake, Minnesota
- Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan
- Nicaragua
- Nizny-Novgorod, Russia
- And for that matter Novgorod.
- Ngorongoro, Tanzania
- Normal, Illinois
- Norway, or is that just me?
- Nob End, Lancashire, England
- Okefenokee Swamp
- Oktemberyan, Armenia
- Oonadatta, SA, Australia
- Orlando, Florida.
- Orly, France ("NO WAI!")
- Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- In fact, Burkina Faso itself is a pretty funny name.
- Relating back to funny animals, Penguin, TAS, Australia
- Peculiar, Missouri
- Penistone, Yorkshire, England. Not pronounced how it looks, but with a short E.
- Pismo Beach, CA.
- Pratts Bottom, London
- Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
- Ramsbottom, Lancashire, England.
- Ringarooma, TAS, Australia
- Romanshorn, Switzerland (recently featured in Irregular Webcomic)
- Santa Claus, Indiana
- Saratoga Springs, NY
- Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. (Possibly even funnier when rendered as "S!!!!horpe" by internet censorware.)
- Seattle, WA
- Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! Exclamation points and all.]
- Six Mile Bottom, Cambridgeshire, England (this is honestly a real place)
- Smackover, Arkansas [1]
- South Kumminin, WA, Australia
- Sparta (or SPAAAAAAAAARRTAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!)
- Stampersgat ("stomper's hole"), the Netherlands.
- Tallahassee, Florida.
- Tippecanoe, Indiana
- Tlaquepaque, Mexico
- Toad Suck Ferry (near Conway), Arkansas
- Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico
- Ur (not related to Ur Example)
- Sort of is: Ur- is a prefix meaning old/original; Not much is older than Ur. And on that note, Uruk.
- Useless Loop, WA, Australia
- Wagga Wagga, Australia
- Walla Walla, WA.
- Wanker's Corner, Oregon.
- Waterloo, either because of the -oo or the bathroom implications. Or both.
- Westward Ho!, Devon, England.
- Winnipeg, Canada
- Wolverhampton, England. It doesn't seem like it'd be that funny, but believe me, it is.
- Woonsocket, Rhode Island (and South Dakota)
- Worms, Germany
- Yeehaw Junction, Florida
- Yemen
- Zimbabwe
- One of the footnotes to the published script of The Compleat Wks of Willm Shkspr (Abridged) says that "this editor really likes writing the word 'Zimbabwe.' Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe."
- It'd probably be easier to list the British hamlets whose names don't qualify.
General
- Absquatulation
- Aerith
- Aglio e Olio (pronounced Ah-lee-oh-lee-oh-lee-oh)
- Alfalfa
- antidisestablishmentarianism (often used in parodies of Spelling Bees)
- antipope (it was a real job description at one point in time, when there were also two other popes)
- If applied to a real Pope, does it explode?
- applejohn
- artichoke
- arugula
- ass-car
- autogyro
- avuncular
- ballcock
- balls
- ball washer
- Balzac
- banana (especially for those who can spell it but don't know where to stop, like Nanny Ogg)
- bebop
- Billion with emphasis on the "B"
- bimbo
- Blastocyst.
- Blastospore.
- Trophoblast.
- blog
- blubber
- boffo
- bog
- bong
- bonk
- Sound effect or euphemism, either way.
- see also boink.
- borborygmus
- bozack
- braaaaaaaains
- Brass Eye
- The title itself, and every last one of its made-up words and character names.
- brobdingnagian (started off as a fictional word from Gulliver's Travels, meaning someone from the giant island of Brobdingnag; now an actual dictionary word meaning "large")
- Brussels sprouts
- bubble
- bulbous bouffant
- Bullywug
- bug
- burble
- butt
- butternut squash
- cactus
- cake
- callipygian
- cantankerous
- cattywampus (or catawampus)
- cheese
- claven
- Clavicus majorus
- cloaca (Robin Williams's favorite word, according to Inside The Actors Studio)
- cockamamie
- cock, as in a hill.
- cockle
- cocksure
- condom, when pronounced with a British accent
- cookies
- Corn
- cosine (Dave Barry's favorite word for poking fun at math teachers)
- cowpoke
- cuckold
- Cuisinart
- cumquat
- dakka
- dead
- debenture
- defenestrate
-
diabetes diabeetus
- diarrhea
- dickey
- dillweed
- dingus
- diphthong
- discombobulated
- dongle
- donniker
- dork
- dowel
- Dracula
- duodenum
- Dung
- dunk
- dysentery
- eggnog
- eggplant
- ejaculate
- on a related note, ejecta
- epidermis - it sounds dirty to grade schoolers; "your epidermis is showing". Say it to anyone who you think won't know any better.
- epididymis - It's part of the male reproductive system, so it's even sort of dirty.
- epiglottis
- ewok
- falafel
- fart
- feckless
- feet
- fickle
- finger
- C'mon; As a noun, it's a simple, everyday word describing in non-silly and non-vulgar language one of our most important body parts. As a verb, it means manual sex. And now, you're going to think of that the next time you hear the word.
- Unless you're in a marching band or similar, where "finger through your part" is a perfectly reasonable command from the guy on the podium. We're well aware of the irony.
- College bands tend to lose even the last bit of clarification and just say "everyone finger your parts". Expect the saxes to take this literally every time.
- "They call them fingers, but I've never seen them fing."
- Oh, there they go.
- Made even funnier by "fing" being the Hungarian word for "fart".
- "It's funny how 'fingerpuppets' sounds okay as a noun..."
- Combined with the above to create "Pull my finger"
- Also used to refer to "Looking over someone's stats" in MU*. As in: "Jesus +fingered you".
- flabbergasted
- flagon
- flan
- flange
- flatus/flatulence
- flibbertigibbet
- floss
- fluffy
- foibles
- follicle
- fork
- Frankenstein
- frick
- And frak, frell, and, all from Star Wars, kriff, frotz farkle, frap, ferglutz, frag, ferg, and frizz. But my favorite are Ben Skywalker saying "We're boned." and "Lubed if I know." If not for Legacy, I'd think he'll need to have a talk with his father soon.
- fucitol
- fustilarian
- Garbonzo
- gargle
- gargoyle
- Gargamel
- Gasoline
- gazebo
- gherkin
- giblets
- appropriately, giggle
- gimp
- gnome
- goggle (including Professor McGoggle)
- gourd
- guano
- gumption
- Harpies/herpes
- hobo
- Hobnob
- hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
- hoity-toity
- Homo erectus
- Guess what? A famous gay bar in Brussels is named like this. They had it coming.
- hobo
- Horribifuckus
- Hufflepuff
- Huggbees
- Idiot (Pronounced IYYYY-DYOT)
- iguana
- inexplicably (this one gets bonus points for both sounding funny and having an implicitly hilarious definition)
- jackalope
- Jarate
- jelly (especially in the context of brains)
- jibblie
- jingo (including Jingo)
- John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
- Kabuki (especially Kabuki Warriors)
- Kalgan
- Kaputnik. (Actually "Sputnik" itself sounds sort of funny.)
- ketchup (you can't because you're Too Slow)
- Klopman, as in the Klopman Diamond, which, as one beautiful lady found out to her dismay, comes with a terrible curse. (Used as a Running Gag on Garfield And Friends).
- knees
- Krankor
- Kumquats, especially when you say it slowly.
- lagomorph
- lesbian (Go on, try it—preferably loudly. LESBIAN!)
- lickety-split
- lingum (A copper necklace worn by Mesopotamian priests, in the shape of a dong.)
- Linoleum
- LOL, appropriately given what it means.
- Similarly, ROFL and ROFLMAO when pronounced as actual words.
- loquacious
- lozenge
- luggage
- macadamia
- macropterous (thank you Penny Arcade!)
- manly, or man- as a prefix (as in man-reaction)
- Malkovich
- Mahogany.
- But not just any mahogany! Mahogany from the trees of planet Malchior 7! Where the trees are 300 feet tall and breathe fire!
- Mansquito
- marzipan
- masticate
- mauve
- meatball
- Meeple
- meringue
- Mesopotamian
- Mohorovicic discontinuity
- moist
- monocle
- monopoly
- mrifk
- muffin
- mukluk
- mushroom
- nadir
- nerf
- niblets
- nipple
- noisome, which means smelly.
- n00b
- nostril
- nubbin
- Nude, either with or without the dipthong
- nugget
- nuts
- oblong
- Ogopogo, which is even more fun because it's a palindrome.
- onomatopoeia
- orifice
- pancreas
- As aptly demonstrated by the Beach Boys pastiche "Pancreas" on Weird Al Yankovic's 2006 CD Straight Outta Lynwood.
- "Ow, my pancreas!"
- pants
- pancake
- pantaloons
- panties (Anatomy of a Murder even lampshades this)
- pantyhose
- pasta
- peacock
- peewee
- pegs
- penis ("HAHA, PENIS")
- peon
- persnickity
- Pfargtle
- phlegm
- piblokto
- pickle
- pickle weasel (That70s Show)
- Pikachu
- Often used by Chelsea Handler on her show as a reference to a woman's private parts, thus ensuring that nobody aware of this will watch Pokemon in quite the same way ever again.
- pineapples
- pipsqueak
- piscene
- philtrum (It's that little groove in the middle of your upper lip, just under your nose.)
- pneumatic
- Plumbum, the Latin word for lead.
- pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (Monty Python's Flying Circus made the mistake of abbreviating this 45-letter word to "pneumonoconiosis," but its definition of this as "a disease miners get" is priceless)
- polyp
- polymascotfoamalate
- ponce
- Pope
- Popemobile
- Papalmover!
- ANYTHING-mobile is pretty funny, actually
- popery (rarely used, but incredibly funny)
- Papist is kind of a funny word too, if still kind of offensive. Come on. Say it.
- pork
- pororoca
- potatoes
- pudding
- puke
- As George Costanza put it: "That's a funny word. Don't have to think about that."
- Puma
- Pumpkin
- Quark
- queef
- RAM CROTCH!!!!
- Rowsdower. Zap Rowsdower.
- rubber dinghy
- Hell, both "rubber" and "dinghy" are just as funny separately.
- rubbish
- rump
- rumpus room
- sackbut (a musical instrument similar to the trombone)
- schist (as in Manhattan schist)
- schwa
- scoliosis
- shenanigans
- shuttlecock
- skinnamarink
- Slorddly
- snugglebunnies
- soybean
- spam, even before it was widely used for Internet junk mail. Whether it was funny before the Monty Python sketch is left to historians.
- spelunk (as Calvin demonstrates, it makes a good onomatopoeia for throwing a rock into a body of water)
- sphincter ("Asphinctersayswhat?")
- splanchnic
- Splee
- spleen
- spork
- sporran
- spotted dick
- squab
- squalid
- squeegee
- squick
- squirm
- squishy
- stallion
- SWORD VAN
- tangelo
- tarnation
- teepee
- thingamajig
- thwart and all variations (thwarted, thwarting, etc.)
- titular
- toaster (especially if it shoots Projectile Toast)
- tomato
- Torgo
- triangular (but only when pronounced with a broad "a")
- trilby
- trope (if you've been hanging out here long enough)
- tumescence
- tusks
- turnip
- twee
- ukelele
- ululate
- underpants
- Ken Keeler, one of the head writers of Futurama, declared that the word underpants is 20% funnier than the word underwear.
- Perhaps this is due to the fact that the term "pants" is also quite funny. Context is irrelevant, just the word alone has this trope in giggles.
- And, as shown in this fanfic, it's even funnier if Sokka screams it (considering his hilariously high-pitched and squeaky "outraged" voice).
- unf
- unguent
- Uranus
- urinal
- urinal cakes are also much more hilarious than just regular cakes
- uvula (the funny-looking thing that dangles at the back of the mouth)
- varlet
- vestigial
- Volcanicityyyyyyyy. Of course, it's a known fact that Matt Berry can make anything sound funny. Including the word "customer".
- voluptuous
- vulva
- wacky
- wad
- waddle
- waffle
- Wankel rotary engine
- WcDonald's
- weenie
- welshp
- wenus
- whaargarbl
- whirligig
- whatchamacallit
- wiener
- wiggle
- Wii
- wizard
- Woobie
- Woy Woy
- Wumpus
- Wuzzle
- yam
- youngling
- yurt
- ziggurat
- zaftig
- zamboni
- Anything made up by Spike Milligan (The Goon Show, for example, got a lot of mileage from "Ying tong iddle i po".)
- Inherently Funny Words can quickly derail a spelling bee:
- Say it with me: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
- Homaged and made funnier by the Nostalgia Critic's review of Batman and Robin. How bad was it? Only one word could describe it: "Iiiiiit's super-crap-a-fuck-a-rif-ic-ex-pi-al-a-bull-shit!"
Celtic languages
Yiddish
- Anything in Yiddish, or sounding like Yiddish, even:
- alter kocker
- bupkis
- cockamamie
- ferkokter
- fershlugginer
- Not to mention hoohah, potrzebie, and veeblefetzer.
- ganef
- gefilte fish
- kreplach
- matsess
- mazal tov
- megillah
- meshuggenah
- paskudnyik
- plotz
- putz
- schlemazel
- schlemiel
- schmaltz
- schmuck
- schnook
- schvitz
- shmooze
- shpilkis
- verklempt
- vershpuket
- Not to mention the classic and incredibly useful "Oy vey!"
other Germanic languages (minus English)
- Afrikaans:
- Aardvark- literally "earth pig"
- (my personal favorite) Free Sample= Gratis Monster (Gratis pronounced Hratis)
- Hell, "Afrikaans" itself is pretty funny.
- Trying listening to someone with an Afrikaans accent speak English. They sound like some sort of mutant who bounces between Australia, the UK, and some alternate dimension on business regularly.
- Dutch:
- tentoonstelling
- sokken
- pannekoek
- daarna
- zeehond
- varken
- telefoon
- nieuw
- German:
- Arschgeige
- Lederhosen
- Pritschenwagen ("pickup truck", which is pretty funny itself)
- Wolpertinger, a mythical creature that is itself meant to be frightening but, seeing as it's a bunny rabbit with large antlers, ends up as adorable
- Kaninchen. In other words, a li'l fluffy bunneh!
- Kofferraumdeckel
- Mannschaft (which is simply the word for "team" but sounds dirty)
- Schwanz ("tail"; in slang it can mean what you think Mannschaft means)
- Schnurrbart
- Schlange (meaning snake)
- By extension, the English slang term "schlong".
- Siebenfacher Sonnenkreis (OK, so it's two words, but this phrase from The Magic Flute never fails to crack me up)
- gefahrt (especially if you speak English)
- "gefahrt"? Do you mean Gefährt?
- Ausfahrt
- Gegengegangen
- Donaudampfschiffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft
- Ananas
- Schmetterling
- Schnauzer
- Schwippschwager
- Wienerschnitzel
- Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung it means "speed limit".
- Pferdefedern (note: that's not a German word)
- It is, however, made from two German words.
- Dirndl
Italic and Romance languages
- Latin:
- The pronoun hic, haec (pronounce [haik]), hoc. Especially if you're a Francophone, as "hic" is the onomatopoeia for hiccups in French.
- The Asterix comics went to town with this — every time they showed a drunk Roman, they'd use all three pronouns for his hiccups.
- Not to mention, the verb 'facio'. (And to go with imperatives- 'Dic me! Dic me!' It ought to have some indicators for long vowels, but not in our textbook...)
- ambulabamus ("We were walking")
- plumbum (lead)
- superbum (superb)
- French:
- bibliothèque
- escargot
- fromage
- pamplemousse (used as a running gag in the webcomic Bob The Angry Flower)
- Used incorrectly, nonetheless; "pamplemousse" actually means "grapefruit".
- poisson
- merde, even better because it means poop (as well as made famous by Monty Python).
- phoque, pronounced like a certain English F word (elementary school French class was never the same when they came up with that silly zoo program where you clicked on the animals, and all you could hear was "phoque", "phoque"...)
- quinze
- harp, and since the h is silent, it makes someone saying sound as if they are trying some strange seal bark. Try continually saying "arp arp arp arp" with a French accent and not laugh.
- hockey, especially when "au" is used before it.
- Spanish:
- hablaba
- Trabajaba
- mundo
- mofongo
- bufanda
- jipijapa
- galimatías
- Perú, emú, cebú, anticucho (according to the -oo phonetics)
- marmota
- panza
- By extension, most words with the suffix"-ito" and "-ita" as a diminutive ("pancita")
- Pie, which actually means "foot".
Japanese
- Japanese:
- desu - if you don't think it's funny, say it five times fast without giggling.
- kyuukyuusha (ambulance)
- koko/soko/asoko (here/there/over there)
- Iya (No!) as in "IYAAAAAAAAAA!"
- demo (but)
- eeto (erh...), n, and other stopgaps and fillers
- In particular, "ano...," meaning "that..." is popular as well, sounds slightly dirty in English and IS dirty in Spanish.
- mushimushi
- hahaoya (mother) and chichioya (father)
- aso, because if you say it the right way...
- chin - while still a body part, it's not in the same region as the english one.
- Nobuatsu Aoki.
- baka (largely thanks to Akane Tendo)
- bukkake (the smart bomb of dirty words. First off, few people know what it is - those who don't go home and look it up..."AAAAAAAAAAGH!" It also has a totally clean alternate meaning as a style of noodle preparation. Plus, it's ridiculously fun to say.)
- Moshi moshi
- Dō itashimashite (can sound like "don't touch the mustache")
- Oppai
- bonkura
- Itadakimasu (somewhat appropriately, sounds like "Eat a duck, we must")
- Nani?! Standard for any moe-blob.
- Dango
- No da!/Na no da!
Other Languages
- Aboriginal Australian languages:
- kookaburra
- Woop Woop. Yes, it's a place.
- kangaroo
- wallaby
- Toowoomba
- Woomera
- Coonamble
- Wagga Wagga
- Goondiwindi
- didgeridoo
- Wollongong
- Wombat
- Armenian:
- apoosh (meaning fool)
- chezarmanak (meaning "don't be suprised")
- duduk
- Finnish:
- saippuakuppinippukauppias (the world's longest palindrome)
- Kalevala
- Hungarian:
- Polish:
- pies (dog, mostly funny due to the false friend)
- Turkish:
- Hebrew
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