A sense of humor is just common sense dancing.

The line appears in Clive James’s 1979 television review in The Observer, where he criticizes a production for draining humor from Alan Bennett’s writing. He frames humor as a faster-moving form of practical judgment and uses the metaphor of “dancing” to describe that liveliness.

Humor is presented as practical sense expressed with agility and play: it’s not separate from good judgment, but a more animated way of applying it. The added remark about trusting humorless people suggests he saw humor as evidence of discernment and proportion.

Common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humour is just common sense, dancing. Those who lack humour are without judgment and should be trusted with nothing.

A sense of humor is just common sense dancing.

Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds.