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Nicki Minaj and the Double Entendre: When Explaining a Joke Doesn’t Kill It

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Published/Copyright: May 20, 2025
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The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook
From the journal The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook Volume 6 Issue 1

Abstract

A drag queen, a rap superstar, and a double entendre walked onto the set of a reality show … and revamped a prevailing assumption about humor. A common view holds that explaining a joke weakens or eliminates its humorous appeal, but is this always true? An episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race in which Nicki Minaj appeared as a guest judge casts doubt on the adage that explanation kills a joke and presents an opportunity to consider cases in which it might confer benefits. Using Minaj as an illustrative example, I first propose that explaining a joke is not always a detriment. From there, I consider the possibility that some jokes might be enhanced by explanation. Finally, I investigate the potential for explaining a joke to serve as an exercise in community-building by expanding its reach to facilitate intimacy among a broader audience.

Keywords: philosophy of humor; jokes; humor and explanation; humor and community-building; Queer humor

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Published Online: 2025-05-20
Published in Print: 2025-05-20

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Titlepages
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Articles
  5. Playful Transgression Theory of Humor and Laughter
  6. The Joke-Coop: Pragmatic Issues of Jokes and Joking
  7. Crying and Laughing Together: Georges Bataille, Friendship, and Deep Emotions
  8. Humor in Chinese Traditions of Thought, Part Two: Chan Buddhism, Han Confucianism, Legalism, the School of Names, and the Annals of Lü Buwei
  9. The Concept of Humorous Irony: Jorge Portilla, Carlos Alberto Sánchez, Richard Rorty, Jonathan Lear, and Socrates, with Minimal Reference to Kierkegaard
  10. In Memoriam: Daniel C. Dennett
  11. In Memoriam: Daniel C. Dennett   Edited by Lydia Amir  
  12. “Much Too Hard!”: Daniel C. Dennett on Humor
  13. Daniel C. Dennett: An Intellectual in a World of Technicians
  14. Daniel C. Dennett: A Wellspring of Inspiration
  15. Discussion: Article for Further Debate
  16. Discussion: Article for Further Debate   Edited by John Marmysz  
  17. Self-Referential Humor as Feminist Protest
  18. Too Much Burden on Humor?
  19. The Challenge of Self-Acceptance: Embracing Imperfection in a Perfectionist World
  20. “… And You Can Use a Little Improvement”
  21. The Sardonic Philosophy of Emil Cioran: Enter Crying, Exit Grinning
  22. Philosophic Satire and Comedy Study
  23. Philosophic Satire and Comedy Study   Edited by Steven Gimbel  
  24. Nicki Minaj and the Double Entendre: When Explaining a Joke Doesn’t Kill It
  25. Tractatus Ludico-Philosophicus (expurgated version)
  26. Humor in Philosophy Education
  27. Humor in Philosophy Education   Edited by Christine A. James
  28. Professorial Academic Identity Defined through Humor
  29. Symposium
  30. Symposium   Edited by Lydia Amir Giorgio Baruchello and Arsæll Már Arnarsson, Humour and Cruelty, Vols. 1 – 3 (parts 1 and 2) Berlin: de Gruyter, 2022 – 2024. De Gruyter Series in Philosophy of Humor, edited by Lydia Amir   Critics
  31. The Humorously Cruel Experience of Reading Humour and Cruelty
  32. Do Humor and Cruelty Go Together?
  33. An Insightful Tour de Force in Comprehensive Metaphysics of Humor
  34. Cruel Humor and Funny Cruelty
  35. Author’s Response
  36. Author’s Response
  37. Humoring Our Critics’ Ostensibly Good-Humored Cruelties and Ársæll Már Arnarsson
  38. Book Reviews
  39. Book Reviews   Edited by Lydia Amir With Pierre Destrée (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) and John Marmysz (Modern and Contemporary Philosophy)  
  40. The Philosophical Stage: Drama and Dialectic in Classical Athens. Joshua Billings. Princeton University Press, 2021. pp. X + 269
  41. Philosophy of Humour: New Perspectives, edited by Viktoras Bachmetjevas and Daniel O’Shiel. Brill, 2023. pp. ix + 186
  42. Philosophical Self-Knowledge: Two Studies. Donald Phillip Verene. Ibidem-Verlag, 2023. pp. 120
  43. Three Answers to the Question “What Is Philosophy?”: A Comedy in Three Acts. Stuart Dalton. Cascade Books, 2024. pp. xxiv + 328
  44. Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
  45. Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
  46. Call for Papers
https://doi.org/10.1515/phhumyb-2025-0014
Keywords for this article
philosophy of humor; jokes; humor and explanation; humor and community-building; Queer humor

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Titlepages
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Articles
  5. Playful Transgression Theory of Humor and Laughter
  6. The Joke-Coop: Pragmatic Issues of Jokes and Joking
  7. Crying and Laughing Together: Georges Bataille, Friendship, and Deep Emotions
  8. Humor in Chinese Traditions of Thought, Part Two: Chan Buddhism, Han Confucianism, Legalism, the School of Names, and the Annals of Lü Buwei
  9. The Concept of Humorous Irony: Jorge Portilla, Carlos Alberto Sánchez, Richard Rorty, Jonathan Lear, and Socrates, with Minimal Reference to Kierkegaard
  10. In Memoriam: Daniel C. Dennett
  11. In Memoriam: Daniel C. Dennett   Edited by Lydia Amir  
  12. “Much Too Hard!”: Daniel C. Dennett on Humor
  13. Daniel C. Dennett: An Intellectual in a World of Technicians
  14. Daniel C. Dennett: A Wellspring of Inspiration
  15. Discussion: Article for Further Debate
  16. Discussion: Article for Further Debate   Edited by John Marmysz  
  17. Self-Referential Humor as Feminist Protest
  18. Too Much Burden on Humor?
  19. The Challenge of Self-Acceptance: Embracing Imperfection in a Perfectionist World
  20. “… And You Can Use a Little Improvement”
  21. The Sardonic Philosophy of Emil Cioran: Enter Crying, Exit Grinning
  22. Philosophic Satire and Comedy Study
  23. Philosophic Satire and Comedy Study   Edited by Steven Gimbel  
  24. Nicki Minaj and the Double Entendre: When Explaining a Joke Doesn’t Kill It
  25. Tractatus Ludico-Philosophicus (expurgated version)
  26. Humor in Philosophy Education
  27. Humor in Philosophy Education   Edited by Christine A. James
  28. Professorial Academic Identity Defined through Humor
  29. Symposium
  30. Symposium   Edited by Lydia Amir Giorgio Baruchello and Arsæll Már Arnarsson, Humour and Cruelty, Vols. 1 – 3 (parts 1 and 2) Berlin: de Gruyter, 2022 – 2024. De Gruyter Series in Philosophy of Humor, edited by Lydia Amir   Critics
  31. The Humorously Cruel Experience of Reading Humour and Cruelty
  32. Do Humor and Cruelty Go Together?
  33. An Insightful Tour de Force in Comprehensive Metaphysics of Humor
  34. Cruel Humor and Funny Cruelty
  35. Author’s Response
  36. Author’s Response
  37. Humoring Our Critics’ Ostensibly Good-Humored Cruelties and Ársæll Már Arnarsson
  38. Book Reviews
  39. Book Reviews   Edited by Lydia Amir With Pierre Destrée (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) and John Marmysz (Modern and Contemporary Philosophy)  
  40. The Philosophical Stage: Drama and Dialectic in Classical Athens. Joshua Billings. Princeton University Press, 2021. pp. X + 269
  41. Philosophy of Humour: New Perspectives, edited by Viktoras Bachmetjevas and Daniel O’Shiel. Brill, 2023. pp. ix + 186
  42. Philosophical Self-Knowledge: Two Studies. Donald Phillip Verene. Ibidem-Verlag, 2023. pp. 120
  43. Three Answers to the Question “What Is Philosophy?”: A Comedy in Three Acts. Stuart Dalton. Cascade Books, 2024. pp. xxiv + 328
  44. Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
  45. Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
  46. Call for Papers
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