Four subcategories of nonsense/sense relationships make up the Silly Family.

ATYPICAL nonsense examples are the most basic of all. A coffee mug with the handle on the inside. An unusual word like ‘schnoz’. A dog playing checkers. An unexpected exclamation like “Gadzooks!” The rhetoric category of hyperbole exaggerates well beyond normal and expected, often for comic effect.

FOOLISH thoughts and actions are easily seen as humorous. Someone wears a baseball cap backwards and raises a hand to block out the sun. Mr. Magoo can’t see and pets a statue of a dog as though it were real. Where’s that toothpaste I bought today?? Oh, here it is in the fridge with the rest of the groceries.

SURREAL nonsense represents a great deviation from sense. Put a pickle in the fireplace and the cat calls his lawyer. Surreal humor notes tend to be perceived as weaker because the distance to normal is often greater. They often work well only in combination with other notes.

BUMBLING is the kernel subcategory for humorous physical motion. Slapstick is intentionally comedic, while unintended pratfalls, etc. can be seen as funny in the absence of injury. More on this kind of exception in a bit.

The term ‘gag’ describes humor built only from Silly Family kernels. ‘Whimsy’ is the combination of silly humor and fantasy.

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