Did you
know?

a running gag
noun phrase

1. a joke or humorous allusion used recurrently in a play, film, television skit, etc., for a cumulative comic effect.

2. a subject, reference, remark, etc., that is a continual source of humor.

Random House Dictionary

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A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling.

Running gags can begin with an instance of unintentional humor that is repeated in variations as the joke grows familiar and audiences anticipate reappearances of the gag.

The humor in a running gag may derive entirely from how often it is repeated, the (in)appropriateness of the situation in which the gag occurs, or setting up the audience to expect another occurrence of the joke and then substituting something else (bait and switch).

Running gags are found mostly in television shows, but also appear in other places, such as video games, films, books, and comic strips.

adapted from Wikipedia

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SYNONYM

running joke

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PRACTICE OWAD TODAY
Start a conversation with something like:

"Hey Sue, did you know that the most famous RUNNING GAG in Germany and Switzerland, is the English phrase "Same Procedure" from the New Year's Eve TV comedy "Dinner for One".