--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humor, to be comprehensible to anybody…" description: "\"Humor, to be comprehensible to anybody, must be built upon a foundation with which he is familiar. If he can't see the foundation the superstructure is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df6/mark-twain-22_arrested_humor-to-be-comprehensible-to-anybody-mu_351515.png" --- # Humor, to be comprehensible to anybody, must be built upon… ![“Humor, to be comprehensible to anybody, must be built upon a foundation with which he is familiar. If he can't see the foundation the superstructure is to him merely a freak -- like the Flatiron building without any visible means of support -- something that ought to be arrested.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df6/mark-twain-22_arrested_humor-to-be-comprehensible-to-anybody-mu_351515.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df6/mark-twain-22_arrested_humor-to-be-comprehensible-to-anybody-mu_351515.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df6/mark-twain-22_arrested_humor-to-be-comprehensible-to-anybody-mu_351515.png) > “Humor, to be comprehensible to anybody, must be built upon a foundation with which he is familiar. If he can't see the foundation the superstructure is to him merely a freak -- like the Flatiron building without any visible means of support -- something that ought to be arrested.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humor works when it rests on familiar ideas; without a clear base, jokes feel absurd and unsupported. **In simple terms:** Comedy needs a relatable base. Key Takeaway Ground jokes in shared experiences. Themes humor communication understanding Mood witty analytical critical Type educational entertaining When to use this quote - stand‑up comedy - political satire - teaching - advertising Key Concepts cognitive psychology social dynamics language Questions to Reflect On - What shared experiences can you use to connect with your audience? - When does humor become a barrier? A Different Perspective Humor may alienate if the assumed foundation isn’t truly common. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) ## Related quotes > [The distinction between the world of commerce and that of "culture" quickly became the distinction between infrastructure and superstructure, with the former clearly determining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-bloom/the-distinction-between-the-world-of-commerce-and-that-of-culture/) [Allan Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-bloom/) > [Sentimentality is a superstructure covering brutality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sentimentality-is-a-superstructure-covering-brutality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Political institutions are a superstructure resting on an economic foundation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/political-institutions-are-a-superstructure-resting-on-an-economic/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [The stage of the development of the productive forces determines the political and ideological superstructure of society which are crystallized into a system of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-browder/the-stage-of-the-development-of-the-productive-forces-determines-the/) [Earl Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-browder/) > [To put it bluntly, I seem to have a whole superstructure with no foundation. But I'm working on the foundation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/to-put-it-bluntly-i-seem-to-have-a-whole-superstructure-with-no/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [You cannot build a superstructure on a cracked foundation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/you-cannot-build-a-superstructure-on-a-cracked-foundation/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [That to begin with; let respect be the foundation, affection the first floor, love the superstructure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/that-to-begin-with-let-respect-be-the-foundation-affection-the-first/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. 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You can say and do things that if you said and did any place else, you'd be arrested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/on-stage-you-re-free-you-can-say-and-do-things-that-if-you-said-and/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. 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You can say and do things that if you said and did any place else, you'd be arrested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/on-stage-you-re-free-you-can-say-and-do-things-that-if-you-said-and/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [a TEN-YEAR-OLD lad in Indianapolis who was arrested for picking up coal along the side of railroad tracks is now in jail. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-jones/a-ten-year-old-lad-in-indianapolis-who-was-arrested-for-picking-up/) Mother Jones > [Fame is like a big eraser. It's strange, now that I'm famous. In my parents' opinion, all the shitty things - all the wreckage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobcat-goldthwait/fame-is-like-a-big-eraser-it-s-strange-now-that-i-m-famous-in-my/) [Bobcat Goldthwait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobcat-goldthwait/) > [When men are arrested without any legal basis and for political reasons, it's merely a routine, everyday occurrence in Russia, and hardly anyone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/when-men-are-arrested-without-any-legal-basis-and-for-political/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [Helen Crawfurd and the Women's Peace Crusade, made a march on the City Chambers, distributing an illegal leaflet in front of police and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-gallacher/helen-crawfurd-and-the-women-s-peace-crusade-made-a-march-on-the-city/) Willie Gallacher > [I just put myself in a hotel and was smoking coke for a while. Then I met up with the wrong people. I ended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-wallice/i-just-put-myself-in-a-hotel-and-was-smoking-coke-for-a-while-then-i/) [Marc Wallice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-wallice/) > [My father was pretty independent. He was - he was arrested once in Nashville when he was on one of his sales trips because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/my-father-was-pretty-independent-he-was-he-was-arrested-once-in/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [I was arrested on graduation night for breaking and entering into the high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-anderson/i-was-arrested-on-graduation-night-for-breaking-and-entering-into-the/) [Gillian Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-anderson/) > [On my recent trip to the Mexico border, Border Patrol agents in California told me they have arrested the same coyotes 20 times, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-keller/on-my-recent-trip-to-the-mexico-border-border-patrol-agents-in/) [Ric Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-keller/) > [You tell people that all the time, 'Jail's the worst place ever and you don't want to go there,' which is true but at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-glover/you-tell-people-that-all-the-time-jail-s-the-worst-place-ever-and-you/) [Stephen Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-glover/) > [“But Daddy, I never knew that's what you expected of me. 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I'd been an organizer, so many things had changed over those three years \[from 1965 till 1968\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-d-been-arrested-many-times-by-then-i-d-been-an-organizer-so-many/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) Browse all 480 Arrested quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Humor, to be comprehensible to anybody, must be built upon a foundation with which he is familiar. 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