Jocoserious
[jo-ko-SEER-ee-uhs]
Part of speech: adjective
Origin: English 17th century
1.
Simultaneously jocular and serious; mixing mirth with serious matters.
Examples of Jocoserious in a sentence
"It can be hard to strike a jocoserious tone in a TV show, but the recent hits “Succession” and “Barry” are enormously popular examples of it done well."
"Dwight tries to keep things light with his colleagues, but the importance of his work as a surgeon means his manner is often more jocoserious, which can be seen as flippant."
About Jocoserious
“Jocoserious” combines the English words “jocose” and “serious.” “Jocose” is based on the Latin “iocōsus” (meaning “humorous”) and the root “iocus” (meaning “joke”).
Did you Know?
The rise of prestige TV has brought about what some critics have referred to as a “golden age of television.” While many of these series are dramas, they are often marked by a jocoserious tone. They deal with serious stories sometimes bordering on tragic, undercut by a current of jokes to keep things from getting too somber. “Fleabag” and “Bojack Horseman” are two recent acclaimed comedy series that use a ready supply of laugh-out-loud-funny jokes as a counterpoint to harrowing storylines. This dichotomy suggests that some TV writers understand it’s easier to get audiences to embrace somber material if there’s a jocoserious element to keep them smiling.
