第1363期：你听过的最好笑的段子是什么？聊聊英文中的爆笑单线段子 - One-liner

很多年前听郭德纲说“男人主动给女人开车门，要么那辆车是新的，要么那个娘们儿是新的。”大笑。后来发现英文中早有这个段子了。

原文是：

When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: either the car is new or the wife is.

这种精炼的小笑话在英文中叫 one-liner（一句话包袱，也有硬直译为“单线"的。），去年脱口秀大会上的那个杨波学的就是这个路数。

今天我们来聊聊one-liner，因为今天是One-Liners Day.

One-liners are jokes or witty remarks or answers delivered in a single line or sentence.

其实说白了就是不用铺垫故事，直接用一句话抖一个包袱（笑料），短平快，喜剧效果奇特，容易引发爆笑。

传说奥斯卡·王尔德有一次过海关时，海关的人问他有没有什么东西要申报（declare）的，王尔德说“I have nothing to declare except my genius.” 除了我这一身天才之外，没有什么值得申报的。

One-liner讲究的是不罗嗦，三言两语直奔主题，看似简单，其实对语言要求极高。表面看起来越简单的东西其实越难做好，万事同理。

下面是两个拿marriage找包袱的one-liner（英文段子的重点主题之一）:

1. Marriage is a three-ring circle: (实际表演时，此处应故意停顿三秒)

Engagement ring; wedding ring; and suffering.

2. Married life is very frustrating.

In the first year of marriage, the man speaks, and the woman listens.

In the second year, the woman speaks, and the man listens.

In the third year, they both speak, and the neighbors listen.

如果你对one-liner这个风格的段子特别感兴趣，推荐你了解一下 Henny Youngman 海尼·尤明，公认的King of one-liners（“单线”段子之王）。

到今年2月24号时我会专门写一期关于他的专题短文。

他最著名的一句是：

When God sneezed, I didn't know what to say. （说的是人们听到别人打喷嚏时习惯说“God bless you.” 但如果上帝打喷嚏我们该说什么呢？）

My wife dresses to kill. She cooks the same way. （哈哈哈哈, poor guy.）

I once wanted to become an atheist, but I gave up - they have no holidays.

I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places.

Just got back from a pleasure trip: I took my mother-in-law to the airport. （英文段子中经常拿in-law姻亲这个群体找包袱）

有条件的读者可以在线欣赏尤明的精彩表演：

Henny Youngman: King of the One-Liners - YouTube

还有一个美国喜剧导演和喜剧作家（段子手）不能略过：Woody Allen

"Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go, it's pretty damn good."

"It’s not that I’m afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens."

这两年流行的美剧 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel《了不起的麦瑟尔夫人》，据说也是国内很多脱口秀演员的启蒙教材之一。

最后，推荐一本我超喜欢的英文笑话书，里面收集了各种类型的英文段子和笑话，有不少经典的one-liner.

The Friars club encyclopedia of jokes: Revised and Updated! Over 2,000 One-Liners, Straight Lines, Stories, Gags, Roasts, Ribs, and Put-Downs, by Friars Club (Author), Barry Dougherty (Compiler)

今天先聊到这里吧。你听过什么精彩的英文One-liner，欢迎留言分享。