bringing down the house with laughter. Carson quipped, "I'm out here busting my buns to get a laugh, with one joke after another, and you just say 'vapor lock' and crack us all up!"
Carson's objective is to tickle the funny bone of his audience with an endless stream of jokes, but he's aided in this endeavor by a single phrase, "vapor lock," which serves as a punchline that sends the crowd into hysterics.