Corny means overused, predictable or over-sentimental: people say it about a joke they've heard a hundred times or a film with a predictable happy ending. The tone is good-natured, often with a smile; people use it to tease friends and themselves: I know it's corny, but… The word is informal but not rude, and in IELTS Speaking you can use it to describe a film or an advert. In an essay, predictable or clichéd is more neutral.
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a corny + joke/line/film/song; so/a bit + corny; I know it's corny, but + clause
- my dad still tells the same corny jokes at every family dinner
- I know it's corny, but I cried at the end of that film
- the ad was so corny, a family hugging in slow motion over cereal
What changed
First versionHe told so corny joke that nobody laughed.
RevisionHe told such a corny joke that nobody laughed.
So goes before an adjective on its own: the joke was so corny. When the adjective is followed by a noun, you need such a: such a corny joke. Only so was replaced.
The most recognisable corny jokes are called dad jokes: puns that make everyone groan. That's such a dad joke! The closest neighbour of corny is cheesy, and they're often near synonyms, but cheesy is more often about sugary romance and cheap sentiment: a cheesy pick-up line.
Your turn
It was ___ corny joke that I groaned out loud.
Show the answer
such a — The gap is followed by an adjective with a noun, corny joke, so you need such a. So goes before an adjective without a noun: the joke was so corny.
Describe a film, song or advert that seemed far too predictable to you: say what it was and what exactly was corny.
I watched a romantic comedy on the plane, and the ending was so corny: he ran through the airport to stop her flight.
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