---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've learned what's funny verbally ain't…"
description: "\"I've learned what's funny verbally ain't so funny on e-mail: They don't hear your intonations. Melissa broke up with somebody over that. She tried to t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/joan-rivers-669_age_i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t_2334033.jpg"
---

#  I've learned what's funny verbally ain't so funny on…

![“I've learned what's funny verbally ain't so funny on e-mail: They don't hear your intonations. Melissa broke up with somebody over that. She tried to tell him: &quot;That was a joke!&quot; But he just didn't get it. Mick Jagger said, &quot;F- 'em if they don't get the joke.&quot; And I love him. That comes with age…” quote by Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/joan-rivers-669_age_i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t_2334033.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/joan-rivers-669_age_i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t_2334033.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/joan-rivers-669_age_i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t_2334033.jpg)

> “I've learned what's funny verbally ain't so funny on e-mail: They don't hear your intonations. Melissa broke up with somebody over that. She tried to tell him: "That was a joke!" But he just didn't get it. Mick Jagger said, "F- 'em if they don't get the joke." And I love him. That comes with age: Knowing it's their problem, not mine.”

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Written jokes lose tone without vocal cues, causing misunderstandings; age brings acceptance of others' misinterpretations.

**In simple terms:** Jokes need voice; age teaches tolerance.

Key Takeaway

Accept misinterpretations, focus on intent.

Themes

communication humor misunderstanding age tolerance

Mood

frustrated reflective amused

Type

advice observational reflective

When to use this quote

- email correspondence
- stand‑up comedy
- personal relationships
- online messaging

Key Concepts

tone context perception empathy

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you ensure humor is clear in text?
- Can you separate intent from reaction?

A Different Perspective

Not all jokes translate; tone can be misread.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Broke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broke/) [Broke up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broke-up/) [Ems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ems/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Funny Verbally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-verbally-5625406/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [I love him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-love-him/) [I've learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-ve-learned/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Intonation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intonation/) [Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jagger/) [Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joke/) [Joke Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joke-love-700319/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Learned Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-funny-659116/) [Mail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mail/) [Melissa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melissa/) [Mines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mines/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Tell Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-joke/)

## Related quotes

> [“If a love encounter is like a good joke, then what is love in its duration and temporality-what is, as we say, a love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alenka-zupan-i/if-a-love-encounter-is-like-a-good-joke-then-what-is-love-in-its/)

[Alenka Zupančič](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alenka-zupan-i/)

> [Actors fall into this trap if they missed being loved for who they really were and not for what they could do - sing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/actors-fall-into-this-trap-if-they-missed-being-loved-for-who-they/)

[Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/)

> [Humour is learned behaviour, and I know exactly why I learned to be funny. I did it from a very early age. My dad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-davies/humour-is-learned-behaviour-and-i-know-exactly-why-i-learned-to-be/)

[Greg Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-davies/)

> [I definitely spent a lot of high school isolating myself because I didn't feel like I fit in. I learned how to be funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-princess/i-definitely-spent-a-lot-of-high-school-isolating-myself-because-i/)

[King Princess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-princess/)

> [“That's how come I learned to be funny, so that I'd have something to offer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/from-the-film/that-s-how-come-i-learned-to-be-funny-so-that-i-d-have-something-to/)

[From the film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/from-the-film/)

> [On her daughter Melissa: The only time she really cried is when I sat her down and told her that she was not adopted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/on-her-daughter-melissa-the-only-time-she-really-cried-is-when-i-sat/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [“Does the king know you're back?" "Nope! I'm trying to think of a properly dramatic way to inform him. Perhaps a hundred chasmfiends marching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/does-the-king-know-you-re-back-nope-i-m-trying-to-think-of-a-properly/)

[Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/)

> [The saxophone is an imperfect instrument, especially the tenor and soprano, as far as intonation goes. The challenge is to sing on an imperfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-getz/the-saxophone-is-an-imperfect-instrument-especially-the-tenor-and/)

[Stan Getz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-getz/)

> [I had a really fantastic dialect coach that I worked very well with, and I was constantly surprised by the different intonations that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-scott/i-had-a-really-fantastic-dialect-coach-that-i-worked-very-well-with/)

[Andrew Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-scott/)

> [Just as a prayer may be merely a mechanical intonation as of a bird, so may a fast be a mere mechanical torture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/just-as-a-prayer-may-be-merely-a-mechanical-intonation-as-of-a-bird/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Color is life, for a world without color seems dead. As a flame produces light, light produces color. As intonation lends color to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-itten/color-is-life-for-a-world-without-color-seems-dead-as-a-flame/)

[Johannes Itten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-itten/)

> [Switch to piano! No. Really, if you like an instrument that sings, play the saxophone. At its best it's like the human voice. Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-getz/switch-to-piano-no-really-if-you-like-an-instrument-that-sings-play/)

[Stan Getz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-getz/)

> [With iron and blood, it seems, and from the rich depths of the earth, John Griswold has fashioned a classic American novel, its dignified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-shacochis/with-iron-and-blood-it-seems-and-from-the-rich-depths-of-the-earth/)

[Bob Shacochis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-shacochis/)

> [You might say that certain words are only pegs to hang intonations on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/you-might-say-that-certain-words-are-only-pegs-to-hang-intonations-on/)

[Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/)

> [Certainly, the history of my life and the works of art which have especially enriched it is precisely that: the depiction or incantation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ayrton/certainly-the-history-of-my-life-and-the-works-of-art-which-have/)

[Michael Ayrton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ayrton/)

## More by Joan Rivers

> [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [I was getting dressed and a peeping tom looked in the window, took a look and pulled down the shade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-was-getting-dressed-and-a-peeping-tom-looked-in-the-window-took-a/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [All my way through college, I worked my way as a window dresser for Lord &amp; Taylor, so I always liked fashion. I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/all-my-way-through-college-i-worked-my-way-as-a-window-dresser-for/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [Everyone thinks Angelina Jolie was the first celebrity baby hoarder, but she wasn't. Before Angelina there was Mia Farrow. Mia had an entire farm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/everyone-thinks-angelina-jolie-was-the-first-celebrity-baby-hoarder/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [I have no sex appeal, which kills me. The only way I can ever hear heavy breathing from my husband's side of the bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-have-no-sex-appeal-which-kills-me-the-only-way-i-can-ever-hear/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [Life goes by fast. Enjoy it. Calm down. It's all funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/life-goes-by-fast-enjoy-it-calm-down-it-s-all-funny/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [If you hate something, you hate it, and if you like something or somebody, you like it, but tell the truth. And most celebrities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/if-you-hate-something-you-hate-it-and-if-you-like-something-or/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [I have no line. If I think it's funny, it's funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-have-no-line-if-i-think-it-s-funny-it-s-funny/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [I know now that everybody in the arts is forever a beginner. Experience counts for a great deal and very little. Every night onstage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-know-now-that-everybody-in-the-arts-is-forever-a-beginner/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [Why women don't blink during foreplay... not enough time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/why-women-don-t-blink-during-foreplay-not-enough-time/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [My breasts are so low now I can have a mammogram and a pedicure at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/my-breasts-are-so-low-now-i-can-have-a-mammogram-and-a-pedicure-at/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [I love Vines. You make this 6.4-second drama, and you can reach 6 million viewer, and make people laugh. I find it so fabulous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-love-vines-you-make-this-6-4-second-drama-and-you-can-reach-6/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [Grandchildren can be annoying - how many times can you go: "And the cow goes moo and the pig goes oink"? It's like talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/grandchildren-can-be-annoying-how-many-times-can-you-go-and-the-cow/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [I'm a New York girl. I come out of New York theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-m-a-new-york-girl-i-come-out-of-new-york-theater/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [All babies look like Renée Zellweger pushed against a glass window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/all-babies-look-like-ren-e-zellweger-pushed-against-a-glass-window/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

[Explore all 417 Joan Rivers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

## More Age quotes

> [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/)

[Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/)

> [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/)

[Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/)

[Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/)

[Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/)

[Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/)

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/)

[Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/)

> [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/)

[Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/)

> [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/)

[Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/)

[Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I've learned what's funny verbally ain't so funny on e-mail: They don't hear your intonations. Melissa broke up with somebody over that. She tried to tell him: \"That was a joke!\" But he just didn't get it. Mick Jagger said, \"F- 'em if they don't get the joke.\" And I love him. That comes with age: Knowing it's their problem, not mine.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Joan Rivers"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t-so-funny-on-e-mail-they-don/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Age"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t-so-funny-on-e-mail-they-don/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/joan-rivers-669_age_i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t_2334033.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/joan-rivers-669_age_i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t_2334033.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56f/joan-rivers-669_age_i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t_2334033.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I've learned what's funny verbally ain't so funny on e-mail: They don't hear your intonations. Melissa broke…” — Joan Rivers",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Joan Rivers",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I've learned what's funny verbally ain't...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t-so-funny-on-e-mail-they-don/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-ve-learned-what-s-funny-verbally-ain-t-so-funny-on-e-mail-they-don/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
