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.