[2] Anti-humor is described as a form of irony or reversal of expectations that may provoke an emotion opposite to humor, such as fear,[3] pain, embarrassment, disgust, awkwardness, or discomfort.
[4] The yarn, also called a shaggy dog story, is a type of anti-humor that involves telling an extremely long joke with an intricate (and sometimes grisly) back story and surreal or repetitive plotline, before ending the story with either a weak spoonerism, or abruptly stopping with no real punchline at all, or no soap radio.
Alternative comedy, among its other aspects, parodies the traditional idea of the joke as a form of humor.
Stand-up comedian Andy Kaufman had his own unique brand of anti-humor, quasi-surrealist acts coupled with performance art; one of his best-known manifestations of this was his act as the fictional persona of Tony Clifton, an untalented lounge lizard entertainer.
[6] Norm Macdonald was another comedian sometimes associated with performing anti-humor, although he objected to the characterization.