ツッコミ待ち

• 読み: ツッコミまち
• ローマ字: tsukkomi machi
• 漢字の分解: 待 (wait) + ち (nominalizer) — ツッコミ is katakana
• 発音: /tsɯk.ko.mi ma.tɕi/

意味

Waiting for the retort — when someone deliberately says something ridiculous, expecting others to call it out, like setting up a joke and waiting for the punchline from the audience.

Rooted in manzai (漫才) comedy, where the ボケ (funny man) says something absurd and the ツッコミ (straight man) corrects or reacts. ツッコミ待ち describes the social dynamic where someone drops an obviously wrong or outrageous statement, then waits for someone to play the straight man. It has expanded beyond comedy into everyday conversation — recognising when someone is fishing for a reaction. Calling out a ツッコミ待ち is itself a meta-level of the joke, acknowledging the setup without falling for it.

例文

1. それ絶対ツッコミ待ちでしょ、乗ってあげるけどさ。
2. あいつの自己紹介、ボケだらけでツッコミ待ちすぎるwww
3. 「俺イケメンだからさ」ってツッコミ待ちにもほどがあるww

使い方ガイド

場面: friends, comedy, social media, group conversation

トーン: playful, meta-humorous, observational

正しい言い方

• その発言はツッコミ待ちだよね？はいはい、ツッコんであげる。 (That comment is fishing for a retort, right? Fine fine, I'll play along.)
• ツッコミ待ちなのに誰もツッコまなくて気まずかったw (Nobody retorted even though they were clearly waiting for it, so awkward lol)

避ける言い方

• 冗談が通じない真面目な場で「ツッコミ待ち」と指摘すると空気が読めない人に見える (Pointing out a 'tsukkomi machi' in a serious setting where jokes don't land makes you look socially unaware)

よくある間違い

• Confusing ツッコミ待ち with just telling a joke — it specifically means setting up for others to react, not delivering the punchline yourself

起源と歴史

From manzai (漫才) comedy tradition. ツッコミ (the straight man's retort) + 待ち (waiting). The term migrated from comedy terminology to general slang as manzai culture permeated everyday Japanese communication, especially through TV variety shows.

文化的背景

時代: 2000s as general slang, comedy roots much older

世代: All ages familiar with manzai culture

社会的背景: Universal, especially strong in Kansai culture

地域メモ: Understanding is nationwide thanks to TV manzai, but the concept resonates most deeply in Kansai where manzai comedy originated and boke-tsukkomi dynamics pervade daily conversation.