the only worthwhile comedy is: when the comic doesn't laugh.*

you never but take yourself seriously when
telling a joke; after all, all the shittest jokes
come from people who never take
themselves seriously; at least with mimes
of clowns, you have the defence of make-up,
that second tier of "canned" laughter,
for the joke is expected...
  you never but always take yourself seriously
when telling a joke: after all, the shittest jokes
come from people who never take themselves
seriously, but always expect the audience,
to do so;
   the most annoyingly pretentious *******
in the trade,
  which is not a punchline, rather:
an understatement.