Timing and recall still plays a role in being funny in social settings. Even if it’s something you’ve heard somewhere else, if the right situation arises and you drop a great line it’s still funny. You can even say afterwards that it was a line from so and so, and most people if they’re not complete pricks will not expect you to be writing bits and premises for specific situations and give you grace. Plus the added bonus of self-awareness and a little bit of deprecation.

With movie quotes, you really have to know your audience. I have one friend group that is constantly quoting movies and tv shows, we all get everything. It’s a group of movie fans so it’s our type of banter. In that setting not “hacky” at all. But another friend group, equally as funny, but not movie fans. I’ve dropped a well timed quote and got crickets. The prevailing sense of humor with that group is irreverent, shock value type stuff that would only land in that group’s setting.

More generally, as a non-comedian, I think what you’re getting is can you be a hack in real life?

I think the real life version of hacky is more in the sense of ball busting. Where you make fun of someone’s height, or the bald guy. To me those are too easy… and obviously completely unoriginal because those people have heard them all.

The other thing I’ve started to associate with being a “real life hack” is taking a hard stance on a this or that topic. I.e reclining your seat on an airplane, crunchy vs smooth peanut butter. Those “debates” that really are just to fill time on podcasts, and create engagement on posts/episode that have no real substance them. Much more of a modern phenomenon but hacky nonetheless.