Sunday, June 29, 2008

URBAN WORD: PREMATURE JOCULATION

It is believed that a good belly laugh kicks in one's endorphins (a natural brain opiate, sometimes called jogger's high). Consequently, for mental health, it is a necessity. Have you ever noticed how clinically depressed people rarely laugh?

premature joculation (from the Urban Dictionary): The act of celebrating an event before it has been fully resolved. Sometimes quickly followed by an embarrassing retraction when things turn out differently.

I love telling jokes and I love them being told, but I find it most frustrating when someone starts to tell a joke and, just before the punch line, starts laughing and snorting so uncontrollably that the punch line cannot be understood. When I wait for the joke teller to calm down, the momentum is lost and the joke falls flat. I would like to extend that definition to include this scenario.

Another instance where premature joculation might be appropriate is the irresistible urge to laugh when someone has fallen. When a person laughs, it is usually followed by a guilty look and attempt to look solemn and contrite. Fortunately, the person who has been hurt scarcely notices what is going on, all attention on trying to figure out what just happened and assess damage.

When my mother was alive, she loved to hear jokes. Her primary language was not English. I could never figure out what she understood, especially when she would double over in laughter when the joke was only half-told. Yet another premature joculation!

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