The punchline is the funny part of the joke.
First you have the setup, then comes the punchline. It’s the destination. The
setup normally exists for one reason - to lead the way to the punchline. (There
are talented people who get laughs out of their setups, but that’s fairly
unusual.)
Most people have probably heard someone tell a
joke and include all sorts of details in the setup that really weren’t
necessary. There’ve been many times when I‘ve heard someone setting up a joke
and I’ve muttered inwardly, “Would you please get to the punchline?”
