one-liner
B2Informal to Neutral
Definition
Meaning
A very short joke or witty remark.
Any concise, clever, and often memorable statement or piece of text, such as a short line of dialogue, a summary, or a single line of computer code.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily denotes humor or cleverness; in technical contexts (e.g., programming), it loses the humorous connotation and means a concise command or expression.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage and meaning are virtually identical. Spelling is always hyphenated.
Connotations
Slightly more associated with stand-up comedy in AmE; used broadly for any witty remark in BrE.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in American English, but common in both.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
VERB + one-liner (tell, deliver, crack)ADJ + one-liner (witty, quick, famous)one-liner + ABOUT + TOPICVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “"That's a classic one-liner." (used to praise a concise joke)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare; might be used metaphorically to describe a succinct sales pitch or summary.
Academic
Very rare, except in analyses of comedy or rhetoric.
Everyday
Common in conversation about humour, films, or TV.
Technical
Common in computing (a one-liner script or command).
Examples
By Part of Speech
adjective
British English
- He has a great one-liner style of comedy.
American English
- It was a one-liner response that shut down the argument.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- He told a funny one-liner.
- The comedian is famous for his quick one-liners.
- She cracked a one-liner about the weather that made everyone laugh.
- The film is packed with memorable one-liners that have entered popular culture.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a comedian holding up ONE finger after delivering a single LINE of a joke that gets a big laugh.
Conceptual Metaphor
HUMOUR/INFORMATION IS A COMPACT OBJECT (a line that can be delivered).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid literal translation as 'однострочник'. Use 'короткая шутка', 'острота', or 'емкая фраза'. In computing, 'однострочная команда' is acceptable.
Common Mistakes
- Using it for any short sentence without a witty or clever element.
- Misspelling as 'onliner' (which suggests being online).
Practice
Quiz
In which context does 'one-liner' typically NOT imply humour?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, in computing, a 'one-liner' is simply a concise command or expression and is not expected to be humorous.
No, it is exclusively a noun. The related action would be 'to deliver' or 'to crack' a one-liner.
A one-liner is a specific type of joke: it's extremely short, often just a single sentence, and the humour is immediate. A joke can be a longer narrative.
Yes, the standard spelling is with a hyphen: 'one-liner'.