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ThMick75 karma

In comedy, the "straight man" is the person that provides the set up for the joke, instead of being the one that delivers the punchline. It's called "straight man" because they play it straight the whole time, no matter how silly or sometimes in spite of how silly their partner gets. For example, in the famous comedy duo Abbott and Costello, the calm, sober, smooth voiced Bud Abbott was the "straight man",.providing the loud and zany Lou Costello opportunities to be wacky. During their famous "who's on first" routine, Abbot is calm throughout the whole bit, never rushing or raising his voice, but by the end of the bit, Costello is audibly frustrated, yelling, his voice cracking, and in live performances he's seen punching his own hat. More recently, Courtney Cox played straight man to Jim Carrey in "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective." Being a good Straightman is actually a talent, but audiences (and often comedians themselves) tend to see the straight man as playing second fiddle.

As Danny Tanner, Bob Saget would provide the setups for Jesse, Joey, or even the kids to deliver the punchline or even the catchphrase used in place of a punchline. It must have been wearing to be the straight man for the Olsen twins when they were still in diapers.

ThMick47 karma

What a great question.

ThMick8 karma

I'll ask the question that has always occurred to me: Why are there so many dashcam videos? Are dashcams common in Russia, and why?

ThMick5 karma

I see.. I seem to remember a video where this guy just dives out in the street and flops in front of the car, but the driver was alert enough to stop way before he hit him. the guy keeps trying to sell it though, but all the people around him start mocking and yelling at him. Is that the kind of thing you're talking about?

ThMick5 karma

As many as 1/4? man, that's got to be extremely tiring, that the problem is that bad.