translation - A word for a joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh


There is a word for this in Indonesian language: jayus.


(Maybe, it is used in Filipino and Malaysian language also.)


It is a joke that is so bad, it's funny. It is often mentioned as untranslatable. I wonder if there is any English equivalent though. (and yes, English does not have to have a word for everything but there is always a chance or we can find a close match at least.)



Lame joke is mentioned in some of the sources but it does not quite fit. Here is an explanation:



Some argue that “lame joke” would do just fine, but not all lame jokes can make one laugh. A joke becomes a jayus when those who heard it laughed, not at the joke but at the person’s failed attempt to deliver a punch line.
Source: ~




Answer



I think what you are looking for is anti-joke, from Wikipedia:



Anti-humor is a type of indirect humor that involves the joke-teller delivering something which is deliberately not funny, or lacking in intrinsic meaning. The practice relies on the expectation on the part of the audience of something humorous, and when this does not happen, the irony itself is of comedic value. Anti-humor is also the basis of various types of pranks and hoaxes



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