One way to make a sentence funnier

Here’s a trick I stole from Gene Weingarten’s book The Fiddler in the Subway. He stole it from the newspaper columnist Dave Barry.

Put the funny word at the end of the sentence.

Let’s try it.

My ass is sore.

Vs.

I’ve got a sore ass.

Which is funnier? I think it’s the second one. Here are my totally unscientific reasons why:

“Ass” is the most interesting word in the sentence. The most vivid. Putting it at the end punctuates the sentence in a more memorable way.

You could think of the funny word as the cherry on top. The little present you give to your reader. Saving the funny for the end builds some tension and release. Tension is crucial to interesting writing.

Of course, neither sentence is comedy gold. There are plenty of ways to punch it up further. For instance:

I suffer from a sore ass.

Now you’ve got a stronger verb (“suffer”) which creates a stronger image. It also adds some nice alliteration (suffer…sore), which makes a better sound in the reader’s mind. You’re on your way to a funnier sentence.

For now, try experimenting with how your sentence ends. In other words:

Play with your sentence’s ass.