| A delayed response to something surprising, shocking, or otherwise demanding a reaction, involving two looks: first you look, but you do not react. Only on the second look, you have a big reaction, e.g. grab your head, fall off your chair, do a full body jerk, spit up whatever liquid is in your mouth- usually in a big spray. (See: spit take.) Commonly seen performed in old movies by physical comedians and vaudevillians. Check out the films of Abbot and Costello or Laurel and Hardy to study this phenomenon. |
