By Daniel Rigney Anyone who thinks “wacky” and “zany” mean the same thing has obviously never read the Oxford English Dictionary.
According to OED, wacky (also “whacky”) is a bit of U.S. slang that made its first known appearance in 1935 in the pages of the learned Jrnl. Abnormal Psychol XXX, 365. Wacky suggests crazy, mad [in a British sense], odd or peculiar.
In subtle contrast to “wacky,” zany, appearing in print as early as 1596, describes the behavior of one who mimics others in a ludicrously awkward way, as a jester or buffoon does.
Not to put too fine a point on it quite yet, wacky is weirdly eccentric, while zany is more at clownish. A few carefully chosen illustrations will help you draw the distinction more finely for yourself so that you can apply it creatively in the interpretation of your own comic experience.
The late Andy Kaufmann is and will forever be wacky. Jerry Lewis as the Nutty Professor is clearly zany -- except in France, where some may insist, deep into the night, that his tropes, understood in a complexly nuanced and contextualized frame, disclose themselves furtively as post-ironically wacky, if not brazenly meta-zany.*
Stephen Colbert, or rather the conservative character he performs on Comedy Central, is delightfully wacky as the narcissistic gasbag. Donald Trump, in a similar persona as a right-wing asshat, rises only to the level of zany. The clownish orange hair is the giveaway.
Am I privileging wacky over zany? Then so be it. We cannot live without our commitments, as Sartre wishes he had said.
Test your understanding of the distinction between “wacky” and “zany” with a few more puzzlers. Lady Gaga? Wacky or zany? Madonna before her? Wacky or zany? And what about the storied comic actor Charles Sheen (nee Carlos Estevez)? Can a person be both wacky and zany at the same time? You make the call.
Or take the slapstick nuttiness of the Three Stooges. Please.
Or that wrestling guy and former Governor of Minnesota who now hosts a conspiracy theory show on an obscure cable network? Or the celebrated political philosopher and historian Michele Bachmann? Or [your most challenging puzzler here].
In future columns we will consider other possible candidates for wackiness or zaniness, including Lady Madonna , art cars, NPR, and MAD Magazine, both then and now.
Until then let me leave you with a tough one to chew on: Conan O’Brien. Wacky or zany? How do you call this one? Especially now that his new show features more gawky physical humor than the old one did, as he tries to lure the lucrative younger demographic that so many corporate advertisers want to reach out and touch in the late-night comedy market?
_____________________________
*Younger people in the audience, on whom old cultural references are sometimes lost, may not know that this gag is yet another mutation of a tired old American joke about Jerry Lewis and the French. The joke’s punchline is always some variant of “The joke is on the French for thinking Jerry Lewis is a comedic genius.” Jerry Lewis was a famous host of a fund-raising telethon on TV. TV was an early medium of visual communication.
-- Danagram, curating our precious comedy heritage since 2011
According to OED, wacky (also “whacky”) is a bit of U.S. slang that made its first known appearance in 1935 in the pages of the learned Jrnl. Abnormal Psychol XXX, 365. Wacky suggests crazy, mad [in a British sense], odd or peculiar.
In subtle contrast to “wacky,” zany, appearing in print as early as 1596, describes the behavior of one who mimics others in a ludicrously awkward way, as a jester or buffoon does.
Not to put too fine a point on it quite yet, wacky is weirdly eccentric, while zany is more at clownish. A few carefully chosen illustrations will help you draw the distinction more finely for yourself so that you can apply it creatively in the interpretation of your own comic experience.
The late Andy Kaufmann is and will forever be wacky. Jerry Lewis as the Nutty Professor is clearly zany -- except in France, where some may insist, deep into the night, that his tropes, understood in a complexly nuanced and contextualized frame, disclose themselves furtively as post-ironically wacky, if not brazenly meta-zany.*
Stephen Colbert, or rather the conservative character he performs on Comedy Central, is delightfully wacky as the narcissistic gasbag. Donald Trump, in a similar persona as a right-wing asshat, rises only to the level of zany. The clownish orange hair is the giveaway.
Am I privileging wacky over zany? Then so be it. We cannot live without our commitments, as Sartre wishes he had said.
Test your understanding of the distinction between “wacky” and “zany” with a few more puzzlers. Lady Gaga? Wacky or zany? Madonna before her? Wacky or zany? And what about the storied comic actor Charles Sheen (nee Carlos Estevez)? Can a person be both wacky and zany at the same time? You make the call.
Or take the slapstick nuttiness of the Three Stooges. Please.
Or that wrestling guy and former Governor of Minnesota who now hosts a conspiracy theory show on an obscure cable network? Or the celebrated political philosopher and historian Michele Bachmann? Or [your most challenging puzzler here].
In future columns we will consider other possible candidates for wackiness or zaniness, including Lady Madonna , art cars, NPR, and MAD Magazine, both then and now.
Until then let me leave you with a tough one to chew on: Conan O’Brien. Wacky or zany? How do you call this one? Especially now that his new show features more gawky physical humor than the old one did, as he tries to lure the lucrative younger demographic that so many corporate advertisers want to reach out and touch in the late-night comedy market?
_____________________________
*Younger people in the audience, on whom old cultural references are sometimes lost, may not know that this gag is yet another mutation of a tired old American joke about Jerry Lewis and the French. The joke’s punchline is always some variant of “The joke is on the French for thinking Jerry Lewis is a comedic genius.” Jerry Lewis was a famous host of a fund-raising telethon on TV. TV was an early medium of visual communication.
-- Danagram, curating our precious comedy heritage since 2011
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