---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is comedy? Comedy is the art of…"
description: "\"What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.\" — Steve Martin"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/steve-martin-593_art_what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-maki_167164.jpg"
---

#  What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh…

![“What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.” quote by Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/steve-martin-593_art_what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-maki_167164.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/steve-martin-593_art_what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-maki_167164.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/steve-martin-593_art_what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-maki_167164.jpg)

> “What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.”

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

## About This Quote

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

Comedy balances humor with taste, delivering laughter without offense.

**In simple terms:** Comedy makes people laugh without being gross.

Key Takeaway

Aim for humor that respects the audience.

Themes

humor taste audience engagement

Mood

playful lighthearted

Type

entertainment observational

When to use this quote

- stand‑up
- writing
- improv
- media production

Key Concepts

social commentary timing relevance

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you gauge what is funny without crossing lines?
- What topics risk offending while trying to amuse?

A Different Perspective

Humor can be misinterpreted across cultures.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) [Making people laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-people-laugh/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/comedy-is-the-art-of-making-people-laugh-without-making-them-puke/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [I enjoy making people laugh and making them smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-la-anthony/i-enjoy-making-people-laugh-and-making-them-smile/)

[La La Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/la-la-anthony/)

> [It doesn't get better than making people laugh and also making sure people don't go hungry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-jost/it-doesn-t-get-better-than-making-people-laugh-and-also-making-sure/)

[Colin Jost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-jost/)

> [Sometimes making people laugh or even making them scared can be accomplished by a good opening sequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-cooper/sometimes-making-people-laugh-or-even-making-them-scared-can-be/)

Kyle Cooper

> [There is no harm in making people laugh by making fun of yourself. What's wrong is when people derive pleasure from making fun of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diljit-dosanjh/there-is-no-harm-in-making-people-laugh-by-making-fun-of-yourself/)

[Diljit Dosanjh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diljit-dosanjh/)

> [My mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-rivers/my-mother-s-greatest-joy-in-life-was-to-make-people-laugh/)

[Melissa Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-rivers/)

> [When part of what you're trying to get at is the truth hidden under a taboo, or when you want to nail a hypocrisy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-solondz/when-part-of-what-you-re-trying-to-get-at-is-the-truth-hidden-under-a/)

[Todd Solondz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-solondz/)

> [To have a job making people laugh really is the greatest thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-gold/to-have-a-job-making-people-laugh-really-is-the-greatest-thing/)

[Judy Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-gold/)

> [I have no shame when it comes to making people laugh. I don't care what I look like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissy-metz/i-have-no-shame-when-it-comes-to-making-people-laugh-i-don-t-care/)

[Chrissy Metz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissy-metz/)

> [About the best thing an actor can do when all is said and done is to make people laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-levine/about-the-best-thing-an-actor-can-do-when-all-is-said-and-done-is-to/)

Ted Levine

> [I've been at it since 1967, and I still love it. There is nothing quite like making people laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-lawrence/i-ve-been-at-it-since-1967-and-i-still-love-it-there-is-nothing-quite/)

[Vicki Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-lawrence/)

> [I love making people laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-making-people-laugh/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The whole thing about working in front of the camera is to make people laugh when they're not supposed to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-galifianakis/the-whole-thing-about-working-in-front-of-the-camera-is-to-make/)

[Zach Galifianakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-galifianakis/)

> [The funniest people I know were, not necessarily troubled, but had a harder time in school or were shy or picked on or something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlin-olson/the-funniest-people-i-know-were-not-necessarily-troubled-but-had-a/)

[Kaitlin Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlin-olson/)

> [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

## More by Steve Martin

> [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [“It was easy to be great. Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. These nights are accidental and statistical: Like lucky cards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/it-was-easy-to-be-great-every-entertainer-has-a-night-when-everything/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [I like a woman with a head on her shoulders. I hate necks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-like-a-woman-with-a-head-on-her-shoulders-i-hate-necks/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [“And after his unparsable response, including a passage where he said he was 'blurring the boundaries between a thing and thought,' she said, 'Thank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/and-after-his-unparsable-response-including-a-passage-where-he-said/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [I have no fear, no fear at all. I wake up, and I have no fear. I go to bed without fear. Fear, fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-have-no-fear-no-fear-at-all-i-wake-up-and-i-have-no-fear-i-go-to/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [“Be undeniably good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/be-undeniably-good/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [When I finally retire, I just want to go away so no one has to listen to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/when-i-finally-retire-i-just-want-to-go-away-so-no-one-has-to-listen/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [Only then does he realize what he has done to Mirabelle, how wanting a square inch of her and not all of her has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/only-then-does-he-realize-what-he-has-done-to-mirabelle-how-wanting-a/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [“Lacey was just as happy alone as with company. When she was alone, she was potential; with others she was realized. Alone, she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/lacey-was-just-as-happy-alone-as-with-company-when-she-was-alone-she/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [At first I had no skills in writing comedy. I didn't know what a joke was, but, as someone once told me, your emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/at-first-i-had-no-skills-in-writing-comedy-i-didn-t-know-what-a-joke/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [You cannot make your opportunities concur with the opportunities of people whose incomes are ten times greater than yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/you-cannot-make-your-opportunities-concur-with-the-opportunities-of/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [The lure in art collecting and its financial rewards, not counting for a moment its aesthetic, cultural and intellectual rewards, is like the trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/the-lure-in-art-collecting-and-its-financial-rewards-not-counting-for/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [My most persistent memory of stand - up is of my mouth being in the present and my mind being in the future: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/my-most-persistent-memory-of-stand-up-is-of-my-mouth-being-in-the/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

> [What I mean is that none of my talents had a - what's that great word - rubric. A singer, an actor, a dancer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/what-i-mean-is-that-none-of-my-talents-had-a-what-s-that-great-word/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

[Explore all 453 Steve Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

## More Art quotes

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

Taf Teh

> [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/)

[Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/)

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

[Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Steve Martin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-making-people-laugh-without/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-making-people-laugh-without/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/steve-martin-593_art_what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-maki_167164.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/steve-martin-593_art_what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-maki_167164.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16a/steve-martin-593_art_what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-maki_167164.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.” — Steve Martin",
                "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": "Steve Martin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What is comedy? Comedy is the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-making-people-laugh-without/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/what-is-comedy-comedy-is-the-art-of-making-people-laugh-without/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
