boffolan.adj.
/bɒˈfəʊlə/, U.S. /ˌbɑˈfoʊlə/ U.S. slang.
A. n.
Originally and chiefly in the entertainment industry: an uproariously funny joke. Cf. earlier boff n.2 and boffo n.1
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > a jest or joke > uproariously funny
side-splitter1834
gut-buster1929
boff1945
boffola1946
thigh-slapper1965
knee-slapper1966
1946 F. Wakeman Hucksters vi. 97 It'll sound all right. Good jokes, laughs, I'll pack the script with boffolas.
1949 Sat. Evening Post 28 May 35/2 This ability [to think of gags] brought out the old boffolas from coast to coast.
1979 Washington Post (Nexis) 4 Jan. b1 Writing jokes..for businessmen who pay $1,500 for five minutes of boffolas.
1998 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant (Nexis) 6 Nov. f5 When treating a biology prof who looks like Colonel Sanders like a tackling dummy is a big boffola, then something profoundly imbecilic has overtaken Hollywood comedy.
B. adj.
Of a laugh: uproarious, unrestrained, hearty. Of a joke: uproariously or boisterously funny, hilarious. Cf. boffo adj.2
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > types of laughter > [adjective] > vehement or convulsive laughter
chucking1607
checklinga1658
chuckling1705
side-splitting1825
boffo1947
boffola1976
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [adjective] > causing convulsive laughter
side-splitting1822
convulsing1843
screaming1854
boffo1947
boffola1976
1976 National Observer (U.S.) 16 Oct. 10/3 There is a lot of shouting, posturing, and attempts at boffola humor.
1989 T. Tryon Night of Moonbow ii. vi. 121 He knew you couldn't help getting a boffola laugh when the front end, feet crossed, sat down on the rear end.
1999 Washington Times (Nexis) 7 July a15 The punch was in the very last sentence... If the boffola line means anything at all, it implies the Dalai Lama and Jiang Zemin, if they could only meet and liked each other, might make substantial progress on the Tibet question.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2002; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.adj.1946