The Private Joke

Funny things, aren't they, in-jokes? They can cause great mirth between friends, alienate and confuse those not 'in' on it.

One could say that they are redundant and exclude others, others could say that they are, in large part when used by the general population, not really funny (fig. 1: most posts on Facebook). Oh, and grossly overused to the point that they are not funny (fig. 2: Anchorman). Saying 'I love lamp' is funny twice, tops.

The perfect private joke is arguably one that is not discernible to the untrained ear - one that is slipped in to a conversation, or a piece of art. Only those that know will share a knowing glance, and those that are not aware will carry on, blissfully unaware and still feel included.

That said, there is nothing like puerile humour once in a while - sometimes, the simple things are the best (anyway, I wouldn't listen to me, I still find it funny when someone says anything remotely related to arses and toilet and my friendship group has an infinite amount of ridiculously silly private jokes).