Somebody who was fantastic at picking exactly the right word for a joke was the British comedienne Victoria Wood.

"During a stand-up routine from 1996, Victoria says the word "bollocks" then comments on the scandal inherent in this. "It will be in the paper on Monday. ‘Woman says bollocks near Cheadle'.’’ As Rebecca Front states in the documentary: “Cheadle being the absolute perfect near-Manchester town. It just falls in the right way.” Victoria could have said "Sale" or "Hyde" or "Droylsden", but they wouldn’t have been as funny as "Cheadle". She had an unerring instinct for the mot juste."

[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/bbbRrf2hng7ddQ7HVH6...