The Punch line reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Punch line

A punch line is the final part of a joke, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is supposedly "funny" and provokes laughter from the listeners.

For instance, in the following well-known joke:

A man walks into a bar with a duck under his arm.

The bartender asks: "hey, where did you find the pig?"

"It's not a pig, it's a duck", the man answers.

To which the barman replies: "I was talking to the duck".

"I was talking to the duck" is the punch line - if people laugh at the joke, it's when they hear that part.

Punch lines generally derive their humor from being unexpected.

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