Editing Ribaldry (section)

==Blue comedy==
[[File:Dave Attell 2009.jpg|thumb|[[Dave Attell]] has been described as a blue comic by his peers.]]
Blue comedy is comedy that is [[off-colour]], [[wiktionary:risqué|risqué]], [[morality|indecent]], or [[profanity|profane]], largely about sex. It often contains [[profanity]] or sexual imagery that may shock and offend some audience members.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}

"Working blue" refers to the act of using swear words and discussing things that people would not discuss in "polite society". A "blue comedian" or "blue comic" is a [[comedian]] who usually performs risqué routines layered with curse words.

There is a common belief that comedian [[Max Miller (comedian)|Max Miller]] (1894–1963) coined the phrase, after his stage act which involved telling jokes from either a white book or a blue book, chosen by audience preference (the blue book contained ribald jokes). This is not so, as the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' contains earlier references to the use of blue to mean ribald: 1890 ''Sporting Times'' 25 Jan. 1/1 "Shifter wondered whether the damsel knew any novel blue stories." and 1900 ''Bulletin'' (Sydney) 20 Oct. 12/4 "Let someone propose to celebrate [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]] by publicly reading some of his bluest productions unexpurgated. The reader would probably be locked up."

Private events at show business clubs such as the [[Masquers Club|Masquers]] often showed this blue side of otherwise clean-cut comedians; a recording survives of one Masquers roast from the 1950s with [[Jack Benny]], [[George Jessel (actor)|George Jessel]], [[George Burns]], and [[Art Linkletter]] all using highly risqué material and obscenities. Many comedians who are normally family-friendly might choose to work blue when off-camera or in an adult-oriented environment; [[Bob Saget]] exemplified this [[dichotomy]]. [[Bill Cosby]]'s 1969 record album ''[[8:15 12:15]]'' records both his family-friendly evening standup comedy show, and his blue midnight show, which included a joke about impregnating his wife "right through the old midnight trampoline" (her [[Diaphragm (birth control)|diaphragm]]) and other sexual references.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/r234485 |title=Bill Cosby: 8:15 12:15 - Bill Cosby &#124; AllMusic |first=Sean |last=Carruthers |work=allmusic.com |year=2011 |access-date=29 April 2018}}</ref>

Some comedians build their careers on blue comedy. Among the best known of these are [[Redd Foxx]], [[Lawanda Page]], and the team of Leroy and Skillet, all of whom later performed on the family-friendly television show ''[[Sanford and Son]]''. Page, Leroy, and Skillet specialised in a particular [[African American]] form of blue spoken word recitation called [[Signifyin'|signifying or toasting]]. [[Dave Attell]] has also been described by his peers as one of the greatest modern-day blue comics.<ref>{{Citation|last=MMPC|title=Bill Burr - Christopher Cross / Go See Dave Attell|date=2016-03-04|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTih1ZnwVs8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/jTih1ZnwVs8| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|access-date=2018-04-23}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On [[talk radio]] in the United States and elsewhere, blue comedy is a staple of the [[shock jock]]'s repertoire. The use of blue comedy over American radio airwaves is severely restricted due to decency regulations; the [[Federal Communications Commission]] can levy fines against radio stations that air obscene content.