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Pun

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	Topics Pun Topic Home A pun (or paronomasia) is a phrasePhrase In grammar, a phrase is a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence.... that deliberately exploits confusion between similar-sounding wordFacts About Word A word is a unit of language that carries meaning and consists of one or more morphemes which are linked more or less tightl... s for humorousHumour Humour is the ability or quality of people, objects, or situations to evoke feelings of amusement in other people.... or rhetoricRhetoric Rhetoric is the art or technique of persuasion, usually through the use of language.... al effect. A pun may also cause confusion between two senses of the same written or spoken word, due to homophonyHomophone A homophone is a word which is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning, for example: carat, caret, carrot... , homographHomograph A homograph is a word that is spelled the same as another but has a different meaning.... y, homonymHomonym A homonym is a word that has the same pronunciation and spelling as another word, but a different meaning.... y, polysemyPolysemy Polysemy is the capacity for a sign or signs to have multiple meanings.... , or metaphorMetaphor In language, a metaphor is a rhetorical trope defined as a direct comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects... ical usage. Walter Redfern has said: "To pun is to treat homonyms as synonymSynonym Synonyms are different words with similar or identical meanings and are interchangeable.... s". For example, in the phrase, "There is nothing punny about bad puns", the pun takes place in the deliberate confusion of the implied word "funny" by the substitution of the word "punny", a heterophone of "funny". By definition, puns must be deliberate; an involuntary substitution of similar words is called a malapropismMalapropism A malapropism is an incorrect usage of a word by substituting a similar-sounding word with different meaning, usually with c... . Puns are a form of word playWord play Word play is a literary technique in which the nature of the words used themselves become part of the subject of the work.... , and occur in all languageLanguage A language is a system of s, such as voice sounds, gestures or written symbols that encode or decode information.... s. Etymology The word pun itself is thought to be originally a contraction of the (now archaic) pundigrion. This Latin term is thought to have originated from punctilious, which itself derived from the ItalianItalian language Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 70 million people, primarily in Italy.... puntiglio (originally meaning "a fine point"), diminutive of punto, "point", from the Latin punctus, past participle of pungere, "to prick." These etymological sources are reported in the Oxford English DictionaryOxford English Dictionary *The Oxford English Dictionary* is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press , and is generally regarded as t... , which labels them "conjecture." Usage Comedy and jokes Puns are a common source of humor in jokeJoke A joke is a short story or short series of words spoken or communicated with the intent of being laughed at or found humorou... s and comedyComedy Overview Comedy has a classical meaning and a popular one .... showShow Show can refer to:* A television program... s. They are often used in the punchline of a joke, where they typically give a humorous meaning to a rather perplexing story. These are also known as feghootFeghoot A Feghoot is a humorous short story or vignette ending in an atrocious pun.... s. The following example comes from the movie (though the punchline is at least five decades older): Captain Aubrey: "Do you see those two weevilWeevil A weevil is a beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily.... s, Doctor?...Which would you choose?" Dr. Maturin: "Neither. There's not a scrap of difference between them. They're the same species of Curculio." Captain Aubrey: "If you had to choose. If you were forced to make a choice. If there were no other option." Dr. Maturin: "Well, then, if you're going to push me. I would choose the right-hand weevil. It has significant advantage in both length and breadth." Captain Aubrey: "There, I have you!...Do you not know that in the service one must always choose the lesser of two weevils?" The last line uses a pun on the stock phrase "the lesser of two evilsLesser of two evils principle Overview The lesser of two evils principle, also known simply as the lesser evil, is the idea that of two bad political choices... ". Puns are particularly admired in Britain, and form a core element of the British cult comedy show I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue and in times past My Word. The late Richard WhiteleyRichard Whiteley John Richard Whiteley, OBE, DL was a British television presenter and journalist.... was famed for his endearingly clumsy use of puns as host of the UK words and numbers game show CountdownCountdown (game show) *Countdown* is a British game show presented by Des Lynam and Carol Vorderman.... . British stand up comedian Tim VineTim Vine Overview Tim Vine is an English stand-up comedian.... 's act is characterised by rapid delivery of unrelated pun-based jokes. British comedianComedian A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh.... Dance Drier is also known for his extensive and often many layered punsPuns Summary This is a disambiguation page.* If you are looking for the Sahrawi political party PUNS, see Partido de Unin Nacional S... woven into his stories. In his own words, "A pun is its own reword." Gag nameGag name A gag name is a false name used to elicit humor through its simultaneous resemblance to a real name on the one hand, and to ... s based on puns (such as calling a character who is always almost late Justin Thyme) can be found in Piers AnthonyPiers Anthony Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob is a writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers An... 's XanthXanth Xanth is a fantasy world created by author Piers Anthony for a series of novels.... novels, The Eyre AffairThe Eyre Affair *The Eyre Affair* is the first novel published by Jasper Fforde.... , AsterixAsterix Asterix is a fictional character, created in 1959 as the hero of a series of French comic books by Ren Goscinny and Alber... , HamletHamlet Overview *The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark* is a tragedy by William Shakespeare and is one of his best-known and most quote... , The SimpsonsThe Simpsons *The Simpsons* is an Emmy and Peabody-winning American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Network, becom... , the Carmen SandiegoCarmen Sandiego Carmen Isabela Sandiego is a fictional criminal featured in a long-running series of computer games and television shows in ... computer games, and many works of Spider RobinsonSpider Robinson Overview Spider Robinson is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author.... , including the Callahan's Crosstime SaloonCallahan's Crosstime Saloon In the fictional universe of Spider Robinson, Callahan's Place is a bar with strongly community-minded and empathic clientel... series. Formats for punning There are numerous pun formats: Bilingual punBilingual pun A bilingual pun is a pun in which a word in one language is similar to a word in another language.... DaffynitionDaffynition A daffynition is a pun format involving the reinterpretation of an existing word, on the basis that it sounds like another w... FeghootFeghoot Summary A Feghoot is a humorous short story or vignette ending in an atrocious pun.... Knock-knock jokeKnock-knock joke The knock-knock joke is a type of joke, probably the best-known format of the pun, and is a time-honoured "call and answer" ... MalapropismMalapropism A malapropism is an incorrect usage of a word by substituting a similar-sounding word with different meaning, usually with c... Shaggy dog story SpoonerismSpoonerism A spoonerism is a play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched , named after the Rever... Tom Swifty Transpositional punTranspositional pun A transpositional pun is a complicated pun format with two aspects.... Science The term punning is sometimes used to describe either unintentional muddled thinking or intentional deception where the same word (such as a homographic pun) is used with two subtly different meanings. For example, in statistics the word significant is usually assumed to be a shortened form of "statistically significant", with the associated precisely defined meaning. It is punning to use significant with the meaning "of practical significance" in contexts where "statistically significant" would be plausible interpretation. Computer science A programming technique that subverts or circumvents the type systemType system Summary In computer science, a type system defines how a programming language classifies values and expressions into types, ho... of a programming languageProgramming language A programming language is an artificial language that can be used to control the behavior of a machine, particularly a compu... in order to achieve an effect that would be difficult or impossible to achieve within the bounds of the formal language is commonly known as "type punningFacts About Type punning In computer science, type punning is a common term for any programming technique that subverts or circumvents the type syste... " in computer scienceComputer science Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and... . Punny quotations "A pun is a shift of wit. A fart is a whift of shit." "A pun is its own reword." — Dance Drier, British comedianComedian A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh.... "A pun is the lowest form of humor, unless you thought of it yourself." — Doug Larson "A pun is the shortest distance between two straight lines." — original source unknown "As different as York from Leeds" — James Joyce in Finnegans WakeFinnegans Wake *Finnegans Wake, published in 1939, is James Joyce's final novel.... , a play on "As different as chalk from cheese". "Blunt and I made atrocious puns. I believe, indeed, that Miss Blunt herself made a little punkin, as I called it" —Henry JamesHenry James Henry James, OM, son of Henry James Sr.... "Congratulations you have one, it's a year's subscription of bad puns" — Kurt CobainKurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain* was the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the Seattle rock band Nirvana.... , "Opinion"Opinion (song) "Opinion" is a song by Kurt Cobain, lead singer and guitarist of the American rock band, Nirvana.... "Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted." — Fred AllenFred Allen Fred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, pointed radio show made him one of the most popular and forward-looking... "Heralds don't pun; they cant." SCASociety for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism is a not-for-profit organization.... heralds' expression "If puns are the lowest form of wit, are buns the lowest form of wheat?" — Piers Anthony, AuthorAuthor An author is the person who creates a written work, such as a book, story, article, or the like, whether short or long, fict... "Immanuel doesn't pun; he Kant." — Oscar WildeOscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, short story writer and Freemason.... "In the beginning was the pun." — Samuel BeckettSamuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish dramatist, novelist and poet.... , MurphyMurphy (novel) The novel *Murphy* was Samuel Beckett's third work of prose fiction.... "Paris of Troy was so named because his mother had a considerable amount of gaul and married a Frenchman." — Original Source Unknown. "Pun (n.): the lowest form of humour" —Samuel Johnson, lexicographerLexicographer Summary A lexicographer is a person devoted to the study of lexicography, especially an author of a dictionary.... "Puns are the last refuge of the witless." —another way of stating the above "The goodness of the true pun is in the direct ratio of its intolerability." — Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe was an American poet, short story writer, editor, critic and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Mo... , MarginaliaMarginalia Marginalia is the general term for notes, scribbles, doodles and editorial comments made in the margin of a book.... , 1849 "'The man', says Johnson, 'that would make / A pun, would pick a pocket!'" ." — Lewis CarrollLewis Carroll The Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, mathematici... , "Phantasmagoria", 1869 "The pun is mightier than the word." — original source unknown "You can tune a guitar, but you can't tuna fish. Unless of course, you play bass." —Douglas AdamsDouglas Adams Douglas Nol Adams was a cult British author, comic radio dramatist, and amateur musician.... Baloo (a bear): "look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities....". —The Jungle Book (1967 film)The Jungle Book (1967 film) *The Jungle Book* is the nineteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon.... Explorer: Then one afternoon I bagged six tigers. Six of the biggest tigers I ever saw. Hostess: You captured six tigers? Explorer: I bagged them. I bagged them and bagged them to go away, but they hung around all afternoon. They were the most persistent tigers I ever saw. —Groucho MarxGroucho Marx Julius Henry Marx, known as Groucho Marx , was an American comedian, working both with his siblings, the Marx Brothers... and Margaret DumontMargaret Dumont Margaret Dumont was an American comedic actress.... , Animal CrackersAnimal Crackers (film) Overview *Animal Crackers* is a 1930 comedy film, and one of the Marx Brothers' most beloved and oft-quoted movies.... Max: I like your nurse's uniform, Guy. Peter: Actually these are O.R. scrubs. Max: Oh, are they? —RushmoreRushmore (film) *Rushmore* is a 1998 movie directed by Wes Anderson, and written by him and Owen Wilson.... Scholar 1 [to scholar 2];"Have you read Marx?" Scholar 2;" Indeed I have my good sir, I believe they are from these cane chairs." More puns An army surplus shop called Millar Tree. Two pretzels were walking down the street. One was assaulted. A backward poet writes inverse. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion. A dyslexic man walks into a bra. A man walks into a bar. A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean a mother. A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumour. A hangover is the wrath of grapes. A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine. A man drowned in a bowl of muesli. A strong currant pulled him in. A man entered a pun contest. Hoping to win, he sent in ten puns. However, no pun in ten did. A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy. A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking. A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative A plateau is a high form of flattery. A successful diet is the triumph of mind over platter. Acupuncture is a jab well done. Alarms: What an octopus is. An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis. Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion. Corduroy pillows are making headlines. Crick: The sound that a Japanese camera makes Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play. Dijon vu - the same mustard as before. Do you want some cheese to go with your whine? Dockyard: A physician's garden. Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? Energizer Bunny arrested: charged with battery. Every calendar's days are numbered. He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends. He had a photographic memory that was never developed. He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key. I used to work in a blanket factory, but it folded. I went to a seafood disco last week... and pulled a muscle. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any. If you don't pay your exorcist, you get repossessed. In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes. Incongruous: Where bills are passed. Khakis: What you need to start the car in Boston. Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under. Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall. Pasteurize: Too far to see. Practice safe eating - always use condiments. Reading while sunbathing makes you well red. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses. Sea captains don't like crew cuts. She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off! Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death. The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered. Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted. What do you call a fish with no eyes?... A fsh. What happened to the butcher who backed into his meat grinder? He got a little behind in his work. What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway.) When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds. When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I. When you dream in colour, it's a pigment of your imagination. Why are ellipses romantic? Because a kiss is a lip tickle. With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress. Without geometry, life is pointless. You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it Did you hear about the vegetarian cannibal? He would only eat Swedes. See also AlburAlbur Summary An Albur in Mexico is a word game consisting of a double entendre, usually with a sexual undertone.... AlliterationAlliteration Alliteration is a stylistic device, or literary technique, in which successive words begin with the same consonant sound or... AntanaclasisAntanaclasis Antanaclasis is a stylistic trope, in which a single word is repeated, but with a different meaning each time.... Auto-antonymAuto-antonym Summary An auto-antonym or contronym, sometimes spelled contranym, is a word with a homonym which is also an antonym.... dajareDajare Dajare is a kind of comic Japanese wordplay, similar in spirit to an English pun relying on similarities in the pronunciatio... (puns in Japanese) Double entendreDouble entendre A double entendre is a figure of speech similar to the pun, in which a spoken phrase can be understood in either of two ways... FeghootFeghoot A Feghoot is a humorous short story or vignette ending in an atrocious pun.... Forster's SyndromeForster's Syndrome In his book, The Act of Creation, Arthur Koestler reported on the phenomenon of compulsive punning, known as Forsters syndrome, af... Humor InsultInsult An insult is a statement or action which or someone. ... Jokes Letter gameLetter game A letter game involves the exchange of written letters, or e-mails, between two or more participants.... MondegreenMondegreen A mondegreen is the mishearing of a phrase in such a way that it acquires a new meaning.... NeologismNeologism A neologism is a word, term, or phrase which has been recently created — often to apply to new concepts, or to reshape... PolyptotonPolyptoton Polyptoton is a stylistic scheme, in which words derived from the same root are repeated.... WitzelsuchtWitzelsucht Witzelsucht is a set of rare neurological symptoms characterized by the patient's uncontrollable tendency to pun, tell inapp... Sources (Access to the full text may be restricted.) External links