step on the joke


to ‘step on a joke’ is a term in comedy writing. it means to ruin a decent joke by by following it too quickly with a riff or another punchline in an attempt to draw more laughs. stepping on a joke is a fatal flaw of bad sitcoms and improv groups, where several actors may step on each other’s jokes in attempts to one-up each other.

joke-stepping is particularly noticeable in certain comics, where attempts to cram several related punchlines into a short sp-ce such as a final panel are more obvious than in filmed media.

in some usage, to step on a joke means to ruin it by deflating it or explaining it. this is more accurately called ‘killing the joke’ which can be a deliberate form of anti-humor. stepping on the joke usually isn’t.
to use the phrase:

did you see that jay leno monologue? making all those lame comments after his punchline? he stepped on that joke so hard he practically curb-stomped it.

to step on the joke:

it was like he was going, “kiss the curb, you joke!” heh. hmm. yeah. whoo.

-applause sign flickers-

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