ABSTRACT
Jokes, quips and asides do not normally occur in isolation, but as an integrated part of spoken discourse. Consequently, if someone decides to be verbally witty, it is reasonable to suppose that something within the context in which the conversation is taking place has triggered off this desire. Of course, it could equally well be that some element in the preceding discourse has been the cause of a witticism. If humour is generated from some kind of ambiguity, whether verbal or physical, then the prompt for this duplicity is likely to have occurred in the language/social context around the example of word play proper. However, although there may be dozens of opportunities in life to pick up on an ambiguous word or situation and joke about it, knowing when it is appropriate to do so is not always easily discernible.
