Disjunctor Selection for One-Line Jokes

Here we present a model of a subtype of one-line jokes (not puns) that describes the relationship between the connector (part of the set-up) and the disjunctor (often called the punchline). This relationship is at the heart of what makes this common type of joke humorous. We have implemented this model in a system, DisS (Disjunctor Selector), which, given a joke set-up, can select the best disjunctor from a list of alternatives. DisS agrees with human judges on the best disjunctor for one typical joke, and we are currently testing it on other jokes of the same sub-type.