# In-joke

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"Inside jokes" redirects here. For the television series, see [Inside Jokes (TV series)](/source/Inside_Jokes_(TV_series)).

An **in-joke**, also known as an **inside joke** or a **private joke**, is a [joke](/source/Joke) with [humour](/source/Humour) that is understandable only to members of an [in-group](/source/In-group_and_out-group); that is, people who are *in* a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest. It is, therefore, an [esoteric](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/esoteric) joke, only humorous to those who are aware of the circumstances behind it.[1]

Typically, inside jokes use a reference in the punchline to imply that which is associated with the reference. Often, this reference refers to the punchline of another joke which was already heard by the in-group.

In-jokes may exist within a small social clique, such as a group of friends, or extend to an entire profession or other relatively large group. When the in-group only includes people which heard the previous portion of a comedic set, the type of inside joke is known as a [callback](/source/Callback_(comedy)).

An example is:

- - Q: What's yellow and equivalent to the [axiom of choice](/source/Axiom_of_choice)? - A: Zorn's lemon.[2]

Individuals not familiar with the mathematical result [Zorn's lemma](/source/Zorn's_lemma) are unlikely to understand the joke. The joke is a [pun](/source/Pun) on the name of this result.

Ethnic or religious groups may also have in-jokes.[3]

## Philosophy

In-jokes are cryptic allusions to shared common ground that act as selective triggers; only those who share that common ground are able to respond appropriately.[4] An in-joke may be used to build community, sometimes at the expense of outsiders. Part of the power of an in-joke is that its audience knows that many do not understand it.[5]

An in-joke can also be used as a [subtext](/source/Subtext), where people in the know may find humor in something not explicitly spoken. They may even apologize for doing so to a [rookie](/source/Rookie), directly or indirectly stating that what they were laughing at was an in-joke.[6]

## See also

- [Shibboleth](/source/Shibboleth)
- [Cultural appropriation](/source/Cultural_appropriation)
- [Fictitious entry](/source/Fictitious_entry)
- [Mathematical joke](/source/Mathematical_joke)
- [Military humor](/source/Military_humor)
- [Order of the Occult Hand](/source/Order_of_the_Occult_Hand)
- [Dog-whistle politics](/source/Dog-whistle_politics)

## References

1. ["Inside joke Definition & Meaning"](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inside%20joke). *Merriam-Webster Dictionary*. April 14, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

1. Vanderbilt University Department of Mathematics (February 5, 2019). ["What's Yellow and Equivalent to the Axiom of Choice?"](https://as.vanderbilt.edu/math/2019/02/talk-title-tba-292/)

1. ["Wales Online: "Are the Welsh Really Funny?", 14 October 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2012."](https://web.archive.org/web/20120718151752/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/tm_headline%3Dare-the-welsh-really-funny-%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D17932085%26siteid%3D50082-name_page.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.walesonline.co.uk/tm_headline%3Dare-the-welsh-really-funny-%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D17932085%26siteid%3D50082-name_page.html) on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2020.

1. Randy Y. Hirokawa and [Marshall Scott Poole](/source/Marshall_Scott_Poole) (1996). *Communication and Group Decision Making*. Sage Publications Inc. p. 96. ISBN 076190462X.

1. Paul Brooks Duff (2001). *Who Rides the Beast?: Prophetic Rivalry and the Rhetoric of Crisis in the Churches of the Apocalypse*. Oxford University Press. p. 81. ISBN 019513835X.

1. Ben Tousey (2003). *Acting Your Dreams: Use Acting Techniques to Interpret Your Dreams*. Ben Tousey. pp. 118–119. ISBN 1-4140-0542-3.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [In-joke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-joke) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-joke?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.