--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What makes me laugh is, of course, the…" description: "\"What makes me laugh is, of course, the absurd, the horror - anything that upsets me.\" — Joan Rivers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/joan-rivers-669_absurd_what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-abs_1706215.png" --- # What makes me laugh is, of course, the absurd, the horror… ![“What makes me laugh is, of course, the absurd, the horror - anything that upsets me.” quote by Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/joan-rivers-669_absurd_what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-abs_1706215.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/joan-rivers-669_absurd_what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-abs_1706215.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/joan-rivers-669_absurd_what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-abs_1706215.png) > “What makes me laugh is, of course, the absurd, the horror - anything that upsets me.” [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. Humor arises from absurdity and horror, especially when it challenges personal discomfort. **In simple terms:** Absurdity and horror make us laugh. Key Takeaway Embrace the absurd to find humor. Themes comedy absurdity human nature Mood wry ironic Type observational satirical When to use this quote - stand‑up performance - daily irritations - media satire Key Concepts psychology of laughter catharsis Questions to Reflect On - What absurdities make you laugh? - How does horror shape your humor? A Different Perspective Humor can mask deeper pain, limiting genuine reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) [Upsets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upsets/) ## Related quotes > [There were a lot of big games. But I think one of the biggest was one that will go down as one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-knox/there-were-a-lot-of-big-games-but-i-think-one-of-the-biggest-was-one/) [Chuck Knox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-knox/) > ['What upsets me is not that you lied to me, but that from now on I can longer believe you.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-upsets-me-is-not-that-you-lied-to-me-but-that-from-now-on-i-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Perhaps religious conscience upsets the designs of those who feel that the highest wisdom and authority comes from government. But from the beginning, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/perhaps-religious-conscience-upsets-the-designs-of-those-who-feel/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [It's very frustrating when you don't always get the right kind of rub - you watch tennis and know if you play better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-robertson/it-s-very-frustrating-when-you-don-t-always-get-the-right-kind-of-rub/) [Neil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-robertson/) > [The number of people my age, younger now, a whole generation younger, who are fiercely bright, over-educated, under-employed and who are politicised and purposeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/the-number-of-people-my-age-younger-now-a-whole-generation-younger/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Upsets can happen at any time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitry-bivol/upsets-can-happen-at-any-time/) [Dmitry Bivol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitry-bivol/) > [“You have to avoid thinking of what upsets you. If not, it will take over your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-flinn/you-have-to-avoid-thinking-of-what-upsets-you-if-not-it-will-take/) [Alex Flinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-flinn/) > [We are used to female writers who use their private lives as unmitigated material being somewhat hormonal; this somehow 'excuses' what might be seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-burchill/we-are-used-to-female-writers-who-use-their-private-lives-as/) [Julie Burchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-burchill/) > [It upsets me where you do a take and people go 'that's so funny,' and you think 'I was being serious.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bateman/it-upsets-me-where-you-do-a-take-and-people-go-that-s-so-funny-and/) [Tom Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bateman/) > [Cognitive therapy is a fast-acting technology of mood modification that you can learn to apply on your own. It can help you eliminate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-d-burns/cognitive-therapy-is-a-fast-acting-technology-of-mood-modification/) [David D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [Any kind of horror video game where I'm the first-person player and I'm... I suddenly stop caring about the video game dude, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-harington/any-kind-of-horror-video-game-where-i-m-the-first-person-player-and-i/) [Kit Harington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-harington/) > [Art upsets, science reasures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-braque/art-upsets-science-reasures/) [Georges Braque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-braque/) > [“When something upsets you in life, you only have two choices: Get over it or die mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charline-ratcliff/when-something-upsets-you-in-life-you-only-have-two-choices-get-over/) [Charline Ratcliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charline-ratcliff/) > [As long as you've got serious investors who wish to put money into football, I applaud. It proves that football is attractive. What upsets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sepp-blatter/as-long-as-you-ve-got-serious-investors-who-wish-to-put-money-into/) [Sepp Blatter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sepp-blatter/) > [It's a great time of year for everybody. In March Madness, there are a lot of upsets, a lot of buzzer beaters, a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-green/it-s-a-great-time-of-year-for-everybody-in-march-madness-there-are-a/) [Danny Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-green/) ## 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 & 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 Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What makes me laugh is, of course, the absurd, the horror - anything that upsets me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Rivers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-absurd-the-horror-anything-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-absurd-the-horror-anything-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/joan-rivers-669_absurd_what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-abs_1706215.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/joan-rivers-669_absurd_what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-abs_1706215.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/joan-rivers-669_absurd_what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-abs_1706215.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What makes me laugh is, of course, the absurd, the horror - anything that upsets me.” — 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": "What makes me laugh is, of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-absurd-the-horror-anything-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/what-makes-me-laugh-is-of-course-the-absurd-the-horror-anything-that/#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 } } ] } ```