Practical joke

9 September 2006

A practical joke or prank is a situation set up usually to produce what the perpetrator imagines to be a humorous physical outcome at the expense of the target. Since the set-up or deception is generally eventually revealed to the victim, the butt of the joke is thereby made to feel foolish or victimized. It can be argued, therefore, that there is an inherent strain of cruelty in most practical jokes.

Practical jokes are distinct from slapstick comedy or knockabout, in which the goal is to make physical events appear miscalculated, inept, or accidental. The term practical refers to the fact that the joke consists of someone doing something (a 'practice'), rather than the common sense of the word ('useful or sensible'). Well-known practical jokers include the illustrator Hugh Troy and the publicist Jim Moran.