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Since "funny bone" may also mean an inclination to laughter or the sense of humor, what may the phrase denoting the lack of those be, collocating with the "funny bone" idiom?

For example, speaking about someone lacking the sense of humor, would it be "He has no funny bone", or "He has his funny bone broken/missing", or "he's lost his funny bone", or what else might it be?

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  • Never heard of the "funny bone" being used with regards to a sense of humour. It hurts.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Jun 22, 2018 at 22:17
  • @WeatherVane - Most interesting. I had no idea this wasn't a global usage. It's quite common in the US. See Wordnik as well.
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Jun 22, 2018 at 22:41

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I don't think there's any standard negation for "funny bone", so how you choose to play off of this idiom depends entirely on your own wit. Certainly "to have no funny bone" works, but surely we can do better:

That was a great joke, but you're not laughing! What's the matter? Fractured your funny bone?

I used to have a pretty good sense of humor, but I loaned my funny-bone to an out-of-work comedian and he never gave it back.

Give it your best shot.

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    +1 A very humerus response.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Jun 22, 2018 at 22:30
  • @StoneyB An extremely humorous comment)
    – Victor B.
    Commented Jun 22, 2018 at 22:36
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    @StoneyB - It tickled my funny bone. (Aside to Rompey: Are you sure you don't mean humerus?)
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Jun 22, 2018 at 22:36
  • @Rompey - Relevant, I think. If I tickle my funny bone, I'm probably laughing; whereas if I bump my funny bone, chances are I'm wincing in pain. Sometimes the verb helps us figure out which meaning is likely intended.
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Jun 22, 2018 at 22:44

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