# In Comedy, What's the Difference Between a Sketch and a Skit?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-comedy-whats-the-difference-between-a-sketch-and-a-skit/682233>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 25, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-comedy-whats-the-difference-between-a-sketch-and-a-skit/682233 "2014-02-25T16:36:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-comedy-whats-the-difference-between-a-sketch-and-a-skit/682233/21 "2014-02-26T14:00:21Z")

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[QUOTE=Miller]  
This may be the first time in history the words “bright spot” and “Joe Piscopo” were used in the same sentence.  
[/QUOTE]

I blame the follow spot operator.

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**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-comedy-whats-the-difference-between-a-sketch-and-a-skit/682233/22 "2014-02-26T14:06:58Z")

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> [@RickJay](#):
>
> Tina Fey worships Lorne Michaels and would agree with anything he said.

You’re thinking of 30 Rock, Studio 60 is Aaron Sorkin.

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**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-comedy-whats-the-difference-between-a-sketch-and-a-skit/682233/23 "2014-02-26T14:09:40Z")

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I generally think of them as being the same, but if I was forced to define, this seems a reasonable distinction to me:

> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sketch_comedy) (FWIW):
> 
> “More serious sketch comedians differentiate their art from that of the skit, maintaining that skits tend to be a (single) dramatized joke, while a sketch is a comedic exploration of a concept, character, or situation.”

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