# Greatest comedic "pause"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-comedic-pause/275317>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 17, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-comedic-pause/275317 "2004-11-17T19:07:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-comedic-pause/275317/81 "2004-11-24T08:20:03Z")

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> [@RealTronic](#):
>
> One comedian (or should I say comedienne) I greatly admire for her great timing in word intonation and effect-increasing pauses is _Wendy Liebman_

I thought she was funny for, like, a minute. But once I realized that she’s incapable of delivering a punch line in any other rhythm, she began to annoy me. She’s like a broken record!

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**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-comedic-pause/275317/82 "2004-11-24T13:36:25Z")

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> [@Agrippina](#):
>
> **Arrested Development** has a lot of great pauses from Justin Bateman. The one I’m thinking of (and I don’t have the exact quote with me), is from the episode where Tobias says, “I blue myself” and then is put in the hospital later.

The entire quote:

Michael: Everything’s going to be okay. I’m sure he’s going to be fine. I’m so sorry that this happened. I spoke to him just before he left the house.

Lindsay: Oh really? What did he say? What was the last thing he said?

Earlier: [Tobias: I just blue myself.]

_pause_

Michael: He said some wonderful things.

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**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-comedic-pause/275317/83 "2004-11-24T20:20:44Z")

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Chevy Chase in the old SNL “Land Shark” skit:

“Pizza delivery!”

“But I didn’t order any pizza.”

[Pause]

“Candygram!”

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**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-comedic-pause/275317/84 "2004-12-15T04:20:12Z")

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**MPFC** : The pause before Palin says, “D’you want to come back to my place?”, and the pause before Cleese says, “Yeh all right.”

Years later, of course, was the dancing scene in **Chicken Run**. The moment when Fetcher starts looking speculatively at Nick is absolutely delicious, if you’re old enough to have seen the MP sketch. Slightly longer pause before Fetcher says, “D’you want to dance?”, slightly shorter one before Nick says, “Yeh all right,” but it works just as well because this time you **know** what’s coming.

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