--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think the main thing about comedy and…" description: "\"I think the main thing about comedy and humor is that it's impossible and always was impossible to define.\" — Mike Nichols" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/mike-nichols-6630_about_i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and_1155636.png" --- # I think the main thing about comedy and humor is that it's… ![“I think the main thing about comedy and humor is that it's impossible and always was impossible to define.” quote by Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/mike-nichols-6630_about_i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and_1155636.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/mike-nichols-6630_about_i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and_1155636.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/mike-nichols-6630_about_i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and_1155636.png) > “I think the main thing about comedy and humor is that it's impossible and always was impossible to define.” [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy resists precise definition because humor is fluid, subjective, and constantly evolving. **In simple terms:** Humor cannot be strictly defined. Key Takeaway Embrace the fluidity of humor. Themes humor creativity subjectivity artistic expression Mood lighthearted analytical Type artistic observational When to use this quote - stand‑up performance - writing jokes - improvisation sessions - media analysis Key Concepts comedy theory cultural studies psychology Questions to Reflect On - What makes something funny to you? - Can humor be taught? A Different Perspective Attempts to codify humor may limit creative freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) ## Related quotes > [The essential building block is...the true love that is impossible to define for those who have never experienced it and unnecessary to define for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-essential-building-block-is-the-true-love-that-is-impossible-to/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [What actually makes poetry poetry is of course impossible to define. We recognize it when we hear it, when we see it, but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/what-actually-makes-poetry-poetry-is-of-course-impossible-to-define/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [“But the bit I liked best was where it said it's impossible to define love because it takes so many forms and is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-chambers/but-the-bit-i-liked-best-was-where-it-said-it-s-impossible-to-define/) [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) > [And I wish that I was made of stone So that I would not have to see A beauty impossible to define A beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/and-i-wish-that-i-was-made-of-stone-so-that-i-would-not-have-to-see-a/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [“We’ll never create a utopia, because it’s impossible to define good without having bad to compare it to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-b-truant/we-ll-never-create-a-utopia-because-it-s-impossible-to-define-good-2/) [Johnny B. Truant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-b-truant/) > [I'm sure I've all but lost friends by maintaining that, despite their love for it, I always saw Stanley Kramer's 'It's a Mad, Mad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-m-sure-i-ve-all-but-lost-friends-by-maintaining-that-despite-their/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [All the greatest comedians use comedy and humor to release pain and sadness, and I think that instead of wanting to live within my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-nokia/all-the-greatest-comedians-use-comedy-and-humor-to-release-pain-and/) [Princess Nokia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-nokia/) > [Quite often, intent on conveying how things can go wrong for a culture (science fiction) or an individual (horror) or all of magical creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-di-filippo/quite-often-intent-on-conveying-how-things-can-go-wrong-for-a-culture/) [Paul Di Filippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-di-filippo/) > [I think people who work in comedy and humor are hesitant to analyze it too much, because you feel like if you take it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-groening/i-think-people-who-work-in-comedy-and-humor-are-hesitant-to-analyze/) [Matt Groening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-groening/) > [I think hip-hop does a very good job of infusing comedy and humor and wit into music, a lot more than other genres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-think-hip-hop-does-a-very-good-job-of-infusing-comedy-and-humor-and/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > ['Hulchul' is a family comedy. You can call it 'humor around families.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyadarshan/hulchul-is-a-family-comedy-you-can-call-it-humor-around-families/) [Priyadarshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyadarshan/) > [We felt it was very important for an entity like CCTV to make its presence felt... To generate a space and to define a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/we-felt-it-was-very-important-for-an-entity-like-cctv-to-make-its/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [“My dad said that the impossible is only impossible if you don’t even try. So I want to try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-poston/my-dad-said-that-the-impossible-is-only-impossible-if-you-don-t-even/) [Ashley Poston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-poston/) > [It is impossible, as impossible as to raise the dead, to restore anything that has ever been great or beautiful in architecture. That which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-impossible-as-impossible-as-to-raise-the-dead-to-restore/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“Never promise to do the possible. Anyone could do the possible. You should promise to do the impossible, because sometimes the impossible was possible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/never-promise-to-do-the-possible-anyone-could-do-the-possible-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## More by Mike Nichols > [Stand-up comedy is a very hard thing on the spirit. There are people who transcend it, like Jack Benny and Steve Martin, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/stand-up-comedy-is-a-very-hard-thing-on-the-spirit-there-are-people/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [It's the hardest thing on earth to like yourself, and then when you do, it's a catastrophe. I mean, the people I know who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/it-s-the-hardest-thing-on-earth-to-like-yourself-and-then-when-you-do/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I used to say that winning the Oscar means being back at the Beverly Hills Hotel at 1 A.M. feeling empty. It's the industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-used-to-say-that-winning-the-oscar-means-being-back-at-the-beverly/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I'm an enormous fan of 'The West Wing.' It was one of the very few shows I would watch every week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-m-an-enormous-fan-of-the-west-wing-it-was-one-of-the-very-few-shows/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [The only safe thing in filmmaking is to take a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/the-only-safe-thing-in-filmmaking-is-to-take-a-chance/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I don't expect anything from reviews. Sometimes I am bemused by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-don-t-expect-anything-from-reviews-sometimes-i-am-bemused-by-them/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [My first memory in the world is my gym teacher ripping my mother's necklace off her neck and throwing it out the window and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/my-first-memory-in-the-world-is-my-gym-teacher-ripping-my-mother-s/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Whether something is a success or not has never had much to do with what you do next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/whether-something-is-a-success-or-not-has-never-had-much-to-do-with/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [The reason that most British actors are better than most American actors in the end is that they don't make any money. At the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/the-reason-that-most-british-actors-are-better-than-most-american/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Fear of comedy is all so much about who you do it with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/fear-of-comedy-is-all-so-much-about-who-you-do-it-with/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [If you lose a parent, it never goes away. As a kid, I dreamed about my father coming back for 15 or 20 years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/if-you-lose-a-parent-it-never-goes-away-as-a-kid-i-dreamed-about-my/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Nerves provide me with energy... It's when I don't have them, when I feel at ease, that I get worried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/nerves-provide-me-with-energy-it-s-when-i-don-t-have-them-when-i-feel/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Technically, maybe I learned most of all from George Stevens, and among his movies I learned the most from 'A Place in the Sun.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/technically-maybe-i-learned-most-of-all-from-george-stevens-and-among/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Jewish introspection and Jewish humor is a way of surviving . . . if you're not handsome and you're not athletic and you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/jewish-introspection-and-jewish-humor-is-a-way-of-surviving-if-you-re/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > ['Streetcar' is no longer about the moment at all. There is no Blanche DuBois anywhere; south, north, east or west. We don't have Blanche…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/streetcar-is-no-longer-about-the-moment-at-all-there-is-no-blanche/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) [Explore all 98 Mike Nichols quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [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 just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) Browse all 26,122 About quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the main thing about comedy and humor is that it's impossible and always was impossible to define.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mike Nichols" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and-humor-is-that-it-s-impossible/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "About" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and-humor-is-that-it-s-impossible/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/mike-nichols-6630_about_i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and_1155636.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/mike-nichols-6630_about_i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and_1155636.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/mike-nichols-6630_about_i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and_1155636.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think the main thing about comedy and humor is that it's impossible and always was impossible to define.” — Mike Nichols", "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": "Mike Nichols", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think the main thing about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and-humor-is-that-it-s-impossible/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-think-the-main-thing-about-comedy-and-humor-is-that-it-s-impossible/#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 } } ] } ```