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there is a word, or perhaps a type of comedy, where simple things are described using terms that are correct but needlessly complicated or absurd for various effects. I am reminded by comics from nathanwpyle on Reddit and twitter examples: example one example two other example sources are welcome Edit: possibly tangentially related to observational comedy

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If you are looking for a noun to describe such a way to speak or write, there is

circumlocution

noun

a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea.

a roundabout expression.

(Dictionary.com)

An example: "The driveway was not unlike that military training device known as an obstacle course” is a circumlocution for “The driveway resembled an obstacle course.

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  • Either circumlocution is not necessarily funny, or you chose a particularly weak example. I guess funny can't be defined, anyhow. Although, Is it intended to rhyme on electrocution? A memorable example in my mind is abuse of technical terminology: dihydrogen monoxide exfiltrated from a civic resident aquifier, or tap water for short.
    – vectory
    Nov 30, 2019 at 23:32

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