off-color humor
- noun
- /ˈɔfˈkɑlər ˈhjuːmər/
- Offensive
:
humor subido de tono
- The Reagan joke was an off-the-cuff remark told in a New Jersey bar, to an entirely adult audience who presumably would be tolerant of slightly off-color humor.
Examples
-
While the film was entertaining, its reliance on off-color humor drew criticism from parents.
-
His off-color humor often left people laughing, but it sometimes crossed the line of good taste.
-
Such suggestions amount to something more than attempts at off-color humor:
Academic text (1992) -
The comedian's routine was filled with off-color humor that made some audience members uncomfortable.
Synonyms
8
7.2
A joke that talks about sex or private parts in a rude way
A joke about sex or other adult subjects that may offend some people
How Indecent
- Offensive
37
5.7
- Offensive
8
7.2
- NSFW
10
9.3
- Offensive
- NSFW
1
7.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
off-color + humor
The adjective 'off-color' is idiomatic: while 'off' (not right) can hint that something is inappropriate, 'color' has no literal link to indecency, so the precise sense 'risqué/vulgar' is conventional rather than strictly compositional. A B1 learner who knows 'off' and 'color' might suspect some impropriety but would not reliably derive the specific meaning without prior exposure, and cross-linguistic equivalents vary.
Etymology
Off-color humor may come from the simple image of a color that is wrong or stained: when a picture or cloth has an off color it looks dirty or bad. So Off-color humor means jokes that are 'rude' or 'in poor taste'.