Humor Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
Name: ………………………………Score: ……… / 20
- Which French satirical show features puppets parodying current events?
- A. Le Grand Journal
- B. Les Guignols de l'info
- C. Quotidien
- D. Le Bébête Show
- Which type of humor involves laughing at serious or taboo subjects (e.g. death)?
- A. White humor
- B. Absurdist humor
- C. Slapstick humor
- D. Dark humor
- Which comedian created the 'la mère Denis' character?
- A. Jean Yanne
- B. Coluche
- C. Thierry Le Luron
- D. Pierre Doris
- Which comedian said: 'Laughter is the best therapy'?
- A. Coluche
- B. Woody Allen
- C. Pierre Desproges
- D. Charlie Chaplin
- Which cult line is associated with Coluche in his political sketches?
- A. 'Je suis candidat !' (I'm a candidate!)
- B. 'Vivement ce soir !'
- C. 'Y en a qui ont essayé, ils ont eu des problèmes.' (Some people tried, they had problems.)
- D. 'C'est beau la vie !'
- Which Swiss comedian is credited with the line: 'Je dis ça, je dis rien...' ('I say that, but I'm saying nothing...')?
- A. Thomas Wiesel
- B. Alex Lutz
- C. Rémi Gaillard
- D. Michel Drucker
- Guy Bedos comes back from a boring dinner party with friends. Which expression does he use to describe the conversation?
- A. 'They have a notary's sense of humor!'
- B. 'As riveting as a bank statement.'
- C. 'We looked each other in the eye and laughed.'
- D. 'We talked about everything... meaning nothing.'
- Laurent Gerra impersonates a politician who never answers questions. What is his favorite evasive formula?
- A. 'That's a very good question you're asking there.'
- B. All of these answers are correct.
- C. 'I will answer you clearly: perhaps.'
- D. 'Allow me not to answer that.'
- About alcohol, which statement by Pierre Desproges highlights his caustic humor?
- A. Alcohol is my best enemy.
- B. I never drink to excess, I don't even know where that is.
- C. I drink to forget that I'm sober.
- D. Alcohol is like work — you have to know when to stop.
- What witty remark does Pierre Desproges make about his relationship with alcohol?
- A. I only drink water, but always in moderation.
- B. I stopped drinking, but I started eating.
- C. Alcohol helped me write my best work.
- D. I never abused alcohol, it was always consenting.
- Which explanation best captures the humor in: "Violence doesn't solve everything, as you realize when a mosquito lands on one of your testicles"?
- A. It illustrates, through absurdity, that a violent reaction can sometimes backfire on oneself.
- B. It describes a wilderness survival technique.
- C. It scientifically explains mosquito behavior.
- D. It proposes a foolproof method for repelling insects.
- Who said: "The advantage of being smart is that you can always play the fool, whereas the opposite is impossible"?
- A. Coluche
- B. Frédéric Dard
- C. Philippe Geluck
- D. Pierre Dac
- Which 1995 film stars Les Inconnus as three half-brothers who meet because of an inheritance?
- A. The Visitors
- B. The Dinner Game
- C. La Cité de la peur
- D. Les Trois Frères
- Which actor plays Sergeant Cruchot in 'The Troops of St. Tropez' (1964)?
- A. Bourvil
- B. Fernandel
- C. Louis de Funès
- D. Jean Gabin
- Which Belgian cartoonist created Gaston Lagaffe, the king of blunders and crazy inventions?
- A. André Franquin
- B. Hergé
- C. Morris
- D. Peyo
- Which silent film actor was nicknamed "the Great Stone Face" for his ever-deadpan expression?
- A. Charlie Chaplin
- B. Buster Keaton
- C. Harold Lloyd
- D. Stan Laurel
- In which city is the "Just for Laughs" festival, one of the world's biggest comedy festivals, held every summer?
- A. Brussels
- B. Montreal
- C. Geneva
- D. Lyon
- What is the comedy of falls, blows and custard pies, typical of silent films, called?
- A. Stand-up
- B. Slapstick
- C. Nonsense
- D. Black humour
- In "Asterix", which Gaulish chief fears only one thing: that the sky will fall on his head?
- A. Getafix
- B. Vitalstatistix
- C. Cacofonix
- D. Fulliautomatix
- Which humorous comic magazine was founded in 1975 by cartoonist Marcel Gotlib and publisher Jacques Diament?
- A. Pilote
- B. Spirou
- C. Fluide glacial
- D. Métal hurlant
Answer key — Humor Quiz
- B. Les Guignols de l'infoBroadcast on Canal+, this show defined the 1990s–2010s with its satirical puppets of politicians and celebrities.
- D. Dark humorDark humor tackles serious or macabre themes with irony, as in the jokes of Pierre Desproges.
- D. Pierre DorisPierre Doris embodied this cult character in the 1970s, known for his commercials and sketches.
- D. Charlie ChaplinThough often attributed to Chaplin, this phrase sums up his philosophy: laughter as a remedy for life's troubles.
- C. 'Y en a qui ont essayé, ils ont eu des problèmes.' (Some people tried, they had problems.)This iconic Coluche line, used in his sketches to denounce the absurdities of the system, has remained in the collective memory.
- A. Thomas WieselThomas Wiesel, a French-speaking Swiss comedian, popularized this formula in his shows to punctuate social observations with a falsely innocent irony.
- D. 'We talked about everything... meaning nothing.'Guy Bedos had the art of elegantly skewering the empty conversations of bourgeois dinner parties.
- B. All of these answers are correct.Laurent Gerra captures political double-speak with precision.
- B. I never drink to excess, I don't even know where that is.Desproges uses false naivety here to poke fun at warnings about alcoholism.
- D. I never abused alcohol, it was always consenting.By personifying alcohol, Desproges twists the concept of abuse into a strangely consensual interaction.
- A. It illustrates, through absurdity, that a violent reaction can sometimes backfire on oneself.The line plays on the contrast between a serious moral principle and a very concrete, painful situation: swatting the mosquito (violence) would make things worse, not better.
- B. Frédéric DardThis quote by Frédéric Dard reflects his witty yet biting humor: a clever paradox pointing out that a smart person can pretend to be foolish, while the reverse isn't possible.
- D. Les Trois FrèresDidier Bourdon, Bernard Campan and Pascal Légitimus drew almost 7 million cinema-goers.
- C. Louis de FunèsIt was such a hit that five sequels followed, up to 'The Troops and Troop-ettes' (1982).
- A. André FranquinFirst appearing in 1957 in Spirou magazine, Gaston sleeps at the office, invents absurd machines and drives Prunelle to despair: 'M'enfin!'
- B. Buster KeatonBuster Keaton performed spectacular stunts himself without ever smiling, as in "The General" (1926).
- B. MontrealCreated in 1983, the festival also gave its name to a famous silent hidden-camera series shown around the world.
- B. SlapstickThe word comes from a theatre paddle made of two slats (a "slap stick") that made a loud crack without hurting.
- B. VitalstatistixThe village chief always travels on a shield carried by two warriors…
- C. Fluide glacialKnown for its absurd, offbeat humour, the magazine published cult series such as "Les Bidochon".