The Alt Comedy Glossary: Stand-Up, Sketch and Improv Terms from A to Z

Comedy has its own language, and alternative comedy has a dialect on top of that. This alt comedy glossary defines the terms you'll hear from comedians, bookers, improvisers and critics, from anti-joke to Zoom show. Some are old stand-up shop talk, some come from the improv classroom, and some belong to the alt scenes of London, Los Angeles and New York. Every definition is written in plain English, with an example where one helps.

If you want the bigger picture first, read what alternative comedy is. If you want to use these words on stage, our guides to starting out in alt comedy and comedy writing techniques put them to work.

A–B

Absurdism

Comedy built on impossible or illogical situations played as if they were normal. Monty Python, The Mighty Boosh and Julio Torres are classic examples. See our guide to absurdist comedy.

Act-out

A section of a set where the comic stops narrating and physically performs a scene, playing one or more characters. Strong act-outs are often where the biggest laughs live.

Alt room

A venue or recurring show outside the comedy-club system, usually a bar back room, small theatre, bookstore or gallery, that welcomes experimental material. Un-Cabaret in Los Angeles and the Luna Lounge in New York were the archetypes.

Alternative comedy

Comedy that defines itself against the mainstream comedy of its time. The term came from London around 1979–80 and was later applied to the American scenes of the 1990s. Often shortened to alt. Unrelated to the political term “alt-right”.

Alternative cabaret

The early British name for the scene, from the Alternative Cabaret collective formed in London in 1979 by Tony Allen, Alexei Sayle and others.

Anti-comedy

Comedy that deliberately withholds, deflates or mocks the expected payoff, so the audience's frustration becomes the joke. Andy Kaufman, Norm Macdonald and Neil Hamburger are key figures. See our full guide to anti-comedy.

Anti-joke

A line shaped like a joke that refuses to have a twist, often by answering its own setup literally. The chicken that crossed the road to get to the other side is the oldest example.

Bit

A unit of material on one subject: a joke or group of jokes, a story or a routine. “Committing to the bit” means pursuing an idea fully, even past the point of comfort.

Blue

Sexually explicit or crude material. “Working blue” means doing an adult set; “working clean” is the opposite.

Bombing

Performing to silence or near-silence. Every comedian does it; how they handle it is part of the craft. Also called eating it or dying.

Booker

The person who decides who performs at a club, show or festival. In the club world, bookers are powerful gatekeepers; in the alt world, the booker is often the comic who runs the show.

Bringer show

A show where new comics get stage time only if they bring a set number of paying audience members. Widely criticised but common in big cities.

Button

A final line or moment that ends a bit or sketch with a snap. In sketch comedy, the button is what comes just before the blackout or cut.

C–D

Callback

A reference late in a set or show to an earlier joke, which gets a fresh laugh because the audience recognises it. James Acaster's Repertoire builds callbacks across four separate hours.

Character comedy

Performing as an invented persona rather than as yourself, sometimes for an entire show. Examples range from Andy Kaufman's Tony Clifton to the Kids in the Hall and Megan Stalter's online characters.

Clapter

Applause instead of laughter, because the audience agrees with a point rather than finding it funny. Usually used critically, about comedy that prioritises the message over the laugh.

Closer

The final bit of a set, usually one of the strongest. Also the headliner at the end of a showcase.

Cringe comedy

Comedy that makes the audience squirm with secondhand embarrassment. The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Nathan for You and I Think You Should Leave all use it in different ways.

Crowd work

Improvised interaction with audience members. A traditional club skill, it became a major genre online in the 2020s as clips of comics talking to crowds spread on social media.

Dark comedy

Comedy that finds laughs in death, illness, violence or despair. See our guide to dark comedy.

Deadpan

Delivery with no visible emotion or acknowledgement that anything is funny. Steven Wright, Nathan Fielder and Tig Notaro are masters of it.

Deconstruction

Taking apart a comedic form on stage to show how it works, or why it doesn't. Stewart Lee's stand-up, Bo Burnham's specials and Hannah Gadsby's Nanette are all, in different ways, deconstructions of stand-up.

Double act

A comedy duo, usually with defined roles such as straight man and funny man. Britain's alt scene produced many, from Mayall and Edmondson to Reeves and Mortimer and Lee and Herring.

E–H

Edinburgh hour

A themed stand-up show of about an hour, written for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each August. The format pushes comics toward a single theme, an arc and a payoff. See our guide to writing a Fringe hour.

Escalation

Raising the stakes of a premise step by step until it becomes absurd. The engine of most sketch comedy, and of almost every Tim Robinson sketch.

Found comedy

Comedy built from real, existing material, such as old training videos, local ads, public-access TV or strangers' online posts, re-presented or recreated so its weirdness shows. Tim and Eric drew heavily on its look.

Fourth wall

The invisible barrier between performers and audience. “Breaking the fourth wall” means acknowledging the audience or camera, as Fleabag famously does.

Game (of the scene)

An improv and sketch term, central to UCB teaching: the first unusual thing in a scene, which performers identify and then repeat and heighten. “Finding the game” is the first job of an improviser.

Hack

Stale, derivative or lazy material, or a comic who relies on it: airline food, “men do this, women do that”, stereotype accents. The word alt comedy has defined itself against for decades.

Harold

A long-form improv structure developed by Del Close, built from scenes, group games and returning threads that connect by the end. Taught at ImprovOlympic (iO) in Chicago and UCB.

Heckler

An audience member who interrupts a performance. Alt comics are as likely to fold a heckler into the act as to shut them down.

Heightening

Making each beat of a scene or bit bigger, stranger or more extreme than the last, following the game. Closely related to escalation.

Hell gig

A hostile or chaotic booking where almost nothing works. Comedians collect stories about them like war wounds.

I–O

Improv

Comedy made up on the spot, usually from audience suggestions. Short-form improv uses quick games; long-form improv builds extended scenes. See our guide to comedy improv.

Irony

Saying or performing the opposite of what you mean, or performing something in a way that signals distance from it. Much alt comedy of the 1990s and 2000s ran on irony; later work often mixes it with sincerity.

Kill

To perform extremely well. “She killed” is the opposite of “she bombed”. Also destroy or crush.

Late-night set

A short stand-up spot, usually around five minutes, on a late-night talk show. For decades it was the main career breakthrough for American comics; its importance faded with the rise of streaming and social clips.

Long-form

Extended work, in improv (scenes lasting 20 to 40 minutes) or stand-up (stories or bits that run for many minutes instead of seconds).

Meta-comedy

Comedy about comedy: material that comments on itself, the performance or the form. Stewart Lee's commentary on his own act is a model.

Mockumentary

Fiction shot in the style of a documentary, such as This Is Spinal Tap, The Office or Reno 911!

New sincerity

A loose label for comedy that drops ironic distance in favour of earnest feeling, often after years of irony. Joe Pera Talks with You and much confessional stand-up of the 2010s and 2020s are examples.

Non sequitur

A line that doesn't follow logically from what came before, used for surprise. A favourite tool of absurdist and surreal comics.

Observational comedy

Stand-up about everyday life and its small absurdities (“have you ever noticed...”). The dominant club style of the 1980s and 1990s, and one of the things the American alt scene reacted against.

One-liner

A complete joke in one or two sentences. Classic one-liner comics include Henny Youngman, Steven Wright and Mitch Hedberg.

Open mic

A show where anyone can sign up for a short spot, usually unpaid. The starting point for nearly every stand-up. Also used for the comics themselves (“open micers”). See our open mic guide.

P–S

Persona

The version of themselves a comic presents on stage. It can be close to real life (Marc Maron) or heavily constructed (Neil Hamburger). Many alt comics treat persona as the main artistic choice.

Premise

The idea or observation a joke or bit is built on, before the punchline. Strong premises are surprising and specific; hack premises are familiar.

Punchline

The part of a joke that delivers the surprise and the laugh. Alt comedy often delays, hides or removes it.

Riffing

Improvising on a topic, often with the audience or other comics, rather than doing prepared material.

Roast

An event where comedians insult a guest of honour. Norm Macdonald's deliberately corny set at the 2008 roast of Bob Saget is a famous anti-comedy subversion of the form.

Rule of three

A list of three where the first two items set a pattern and the third breaks it. One of the oldest joke structures, and a frequent target of alt parody.

Set

A single performance by a comedian, defined by its length: a five, a ten, a half hour, an hour.

Shaggy-dog story

A long, digressive story that ends on a deliberately weak or pointless punchline. Norm Macdonald's moth joke is the most famous modern example.

Showcase

A show with several comics doing short sets, often for industry viewers. In the alt world, a weekly showcase is often the hub of a local scene.

Sketch

A short comedic scene, usually with a single premise or game, performed live or filmed. See our list of the 25 greatest sketch shows.

Special

A filmed stand-up performance released on TV, streaming or online, usually 45 to 75 minutes. Since the 2010s, the main artistic statement of a stand-up career.

Spot

A slot on a show (“I got a spot at the Comedy Cellar”). A guest spot is an unannounced, often unpaid slot.

Storytelling

Stand-up built from extended, often personal narratives rather than discrete jokes. Mike Birbiglia, Tig Notaro and the Un-Cabaret school are central figures.

Surrealism

Dreamlike, irrational comedy that creates its own reality. Close to absurdism, though surreal comedy tends to be more visual and less logical. Vic Reeves and The Mighty Boosh are British touchstones.

T–Z

Tag

An extra line added after a punchline for another laugh without a new setup. A string of tags is called a tag run.

Tight five

A comic's best, most polished five minutes, used for auditions, showcases and TV spots.

Topper

A line that builds on a laugh just achieved to get an even bigger one. Similar to a tag, but expected to beat the original.

Un-Cabaret style

Shorthand for the confessional, notes-in-hand, no-club-act approach associated with Beth Lapides's Un-Cabaret in Los Angeles.

Workshop

To develop material through repeated performance and revision, usually at open mics and small shows. See our guide to workshopping material.

Working the room

Adapting to the specific audience and atmosphere, through crowd work, adjusted material or energy.

“Yes, and”

The basic rule of improv: accept what a scene partner offers (“yes”) and add to it (“and”). Also used as a general principle of collaboration.

Zoom show

A live comedy show performed over video call, common during the 2020–21 pandemic shutdowns. Comics learned to work without laughs and with muted crowds; a few made the format itself the joke.

Frequently asked questions

What does “alt” mean in comedy?

Alt is short for alternative comedy: comedy that works outside or against the conventions of mainstream club stand-up, whether through form (anti-jokes, character, conceptual bits), content or venue (bars, theatres and DIY rooms instead of comedy clubs).

What is a tight five?

A tight five is a comedian's best, most polished five minutes of material, the set they would use for an audition, a showcase or a late-night TV spot.

What does hack mean in comedy?

Hack describes material or performers that rely on stale, overused premises and joke structures, like airline food or generic battle-of-the-sexes bits. Among comedians it's one of the harshest insults.

What is clapter?

Clapter is applause in place of laughter, when an audience claps because it agrees with a comic's point rather than because the line was funny. The term is usually used critically, about political or message-driven comedy.

What does it mean when a comedian says they ate it?

Eating it means bombing: performing to little or no laughter. New York's 1990s alt show at the Luna Lounge was called Eating It as a joke about exactly that.