A pregnant pause (as in the classical definition, "many possibilities") is a technique of comic timing used to accentuate a comedy element, where the comic pauses at the end of a phrase to build up suspense. It's often used at the end of a comically awkward statement or in the silence after a seemingly non-comic phrase to build up a comeback. Refined by Jack Benny, the pregnant pause has become a staple of stand-up comedy.
Read more about this topic: Comic Timing
Famous quotes containing the words pregnant and/or pause:
“Our age believed herself pregnant with auspicious progeny, but when her hour came, it turned out to be dropsy.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“After a pause at Ball’s Hill, the St. Anne’s of Concord voyageurs, not to say any prayer for the success of our voyage, but to gather the few berries which were still left on the hills, hanging by very slender threads, we weighed anchor again, and were soon out of sight of our native village. The land seemed to grow fairer as we withdrew from it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)