Plural of boffola; loud laughs or big comedic successes that make audiences roar with laughter.
From Yiddish 'boff' meaning to hit or strike, combined with the suffix '-ola' (from Italian) to create an exaggerated effect. The term emerged in American vaudeville and comedy circles in the early 20th century to describe a surefire laugh.
Theater historians love this word because it perfectly captures the golden age of vaudeville, when comedians would literally plot out their 'boffolas'—the guaranteed laugh-getters—in their acts like precision timing weapons.
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