Other forms: punchlines
The punchline is the last line of a joke, where the laugh is. Deliver the punchline, forget the punchline, wait for the punchline.
Everything before it is setup, and the whole craft of a joke is in how the punchline reverses what the setup made you expect. The word is also spelled punch line as two words. Figuratively, the punchline of a story is its point or its sting: the punchline is that they never paid. Note that telegraphing the punchline — giving it away early — is the standard term for spoiling one.
1nounpunchlineThe last line of a joke, where the laugh is.
“He got the punchline wrong and told it again.”
2nounpointThe point or sting at the end of a story.
“The punchline is that the building was sold twice.”
punchline is the end of a joke.
punch line 1910s, probably American. It was probably meant to be likened to a quick, sharp punch.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Music, Art & Culture, News & Communication