“Casual UK”: 50 Funny Posts That Perfectly Illustrate What British Humor Is All About (New Pics)

To learn more about British humor, we contacted an up-and-coming comedian from the UK who is making a name for herself with deadpan, low-energy stories, Rachel South. The first words that came to her mind were "sarcastic", "ironic", and "dry".

It's also "self-deprecating or painfully (but sometimes welcomed) insulting of others," South told Bored Panda.

These features reveal themselves in the topics that Brits like to joke about the most, too. "[They mostly make fun of] their appearance, how fed up or embarrassed or awkward they are, other people's misery, sex and the mundane," South explained.

"A lot of stuff is spoken about but maybe the least I see on the circuit is overly specific, unrelatable stuff or offensive material. Most comedians I've met are pretty left-wing!" she added.

When it comes to comparing American and British humor, Ricky Gervais thinks that the former is more "down the line."

Gervais, who co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the hit BBC series The Office, which was on air for two years and adapted for a U.S. series for eight seasons, believes Americans don't hide their hopes and fears.

Echoing similar thoughts as Rachel's, he wrote in Time Magazine that Americans "applaud ambition and openly reward success" while "Brits are more comfortable with life's losers."

"We embrace the underdog until it's no longer the underdog. We like to bring authority down a peg or two. Just for the hell of it," Gervais explained. "Americans say, 'have a nice day' whether they mean it or not. Brits are terrified to say this. We tell ourselves it's because we don't want to sound insincere but I think it might be for the opposite reason. We don't want to celebrate anything too soon. Failure and disappointment lurk around every corner. This is due to our upbringing. Americans are brought up to believe they can be the next president of the United States. Brits are told, 'It won't happen for you.'"

Gervais finds these differences everywhere from mass media to mundane conversations. "There's a received wisdom in the U.K. that Americans don't get irony. This is of course not true. But what is true is that they don't use it all the time. It shows up in the smarter comedies but Americans don't use it as much socially as Brits. We use it as liberally as prepositions in everyday speech. We tease our friends. We use sarcasm as a shield and a weapon. We avoid sincerity until it’s absolutely necessary. We mercilessly take the piss out of people we like or dislike basically. And ourselves. This is very important. Our brashness and swagger is laden with equal portions of self-deprecation. This is our license to hand it out."

If you think this can sometimes be perceived as nasty, you're right. But only if the recipients aren't used to it. In reality, it isn't. As Gervais says, it's just play fighting. A few more posts from r/CasualUK and you might get it, too.

"Try not to take things too seriously, even if the person talking seems really serious," Rachel South said. In fact, her comedy style represents that her country's quite well so I highly recommend visiting her Instagram account.