This paper examines various kinds of jokes in the framework of relevance theory (henceforth RT). RT can explain the workings of the brain and give more explicit and exhaustive argumentation about on-line joke interpretations. Topics include ad hoc concept construction, enrichment, reference assignment, six kinds of implicature-based jokes, definition jokes, metalinguistic jokes, three kinds of
... [Show full abstract] resemblance-based jokes, and frame-related ethnic jokes. Implicature-based jokes are classified into four classes: a joke which comes from two contradictory implicatures; a joke which comes from an absurd assumption; a joke which is from an absurd implicature; and a joke which is from two contradictory assumptions. Resemblance-based jokes are captured by a variety of resemblance relations: resemblance in sound, resemblance in syntactic and lexical forms and resemblance in propositional forms. I argue that jokes create two relevant interpretations in many ways, and the hearer appreciates the gap or difference between the two. Processing jokes is less economical than processing plain, explicit messages. Certain effort-demanding interpretive paths of jokes are favored in exchange for an increase in humorous effects.