Pun is a play on words or paronomasia.
23
votes
1answer
1k views
Explain this pickup line: “If Bangkok invaded Djibouti, would Greece help?”
I was at an Model UN conference and often notes like the following get passed. As I'm not a native speaker, I assume that this has to do with some pronunciational issue. Can you please explain what's ...
21
votes
6answers
3k views
“Tortoise” and “taught us”
I’m reading Alice in Wonderland, and found the following dialogue:
“The master was an old Turtle — we used to call him Tortoise—”
“Why did you call him Tortoise, if he wasn’t one?” Alice ...
18
votes
3answers
895 views
Make like a banana
In my area, it's not unusual to hear expressions like
I'm going to make like a banana and split.
...make like a tree and leave.
...make like a baby and head out.
...make like a prom ...
13
votes
1answer
357 views
“Soft-peddle” vs. “Soft-pedal”: eggcorn blunder or sly play on words?
In chat the other day I asked the following question:
"Recently I've been seeing writers using "soft-peddle" in print (in reputable publications, to boot) when I am certain the trope is ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
A word for when a word is used incorrectly (grammatically) but can still be parsed in a grammatically correct way?
Does such a word exist?
An example:
Do good.
Supposing that my intention in saying "Do good!" was actually "Do well (on your test)!", the sentence still parses correctly as "Do good (deeds)!"
I ...
8
votes
1answer
797 views
“After all 7 8 9” joke?
I know that it is very important to be aware of "hidden meanings" of words and phrases. (Especially if the meaning is sexual.) That is why I love Stephen Colbert's "The Word" segments and usually ...
6
votes
5answers
379 views
A pedant's plea for a proper pun
This problem has plagued me occasionally, and I'm finally asking: What is the proper grammar (specifically, verb use and capitalization) in the following pun situation?
The only Windows I want to ...
6
votes
1answer
224 views
Jackson = $$son: pun or topical reference
Alfred Bester's short story The Demolished Man (the original version serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1952, not the novel published in 1963) may have been the first instance of SMS-speak, featuring ...
5
votes
1answer
261 views
Brainstorm: a pun on rainstorm?
The Online Etymology Dictionary unsurprisingly says brainstorm is from the combination of brain and storm.
What I want to know is whether or not this neologism was an intentional pun on the word ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Double meaning?
Taken from "A Quiver Full of Arrows":
"The flowers have lasted well," she
teased, and left him to make the
coffee.
Does the sentence clearly imply that she left to make the coffee? Or could ...
4
votes
3answers
693 views
Is this sentence grammatically correct or punny (or both)?
I have a comment on this question where I refer to a list of three examples deemed 'valid'. I said: "I think the last valid example is not."
The sentence sounds kind of strange (I did that on ...
4
votes
1answer
261 views
Term for misspelling used as pun of another word
What is the term for a common or potential pun of another word using a misspelling? For example, I thought the made-up word bikery was a funny sort of play on the word bakery. What, therefore, would ...
3
votes
3answers
167 views
What is the best way to idiomatically translate this pun into English?
I'm trying to translate some text from Russian to English.
The text discusses both chairs and power over people (it is a fantasy work discussing a Chair of Power for a Lord).
At one point, it has a ...
3
votes
2answers
540 views
“We've got you covered” on an umbrella
Is the above a pun? In one sense, the word covered is used to different ways (sort of) in that the phrase is usually used to mean a covered responsibility, not literally covered.
At the same time, ...
2
votes
3answers
848 views
What is the meaning, or fun of the pun in the line, “H.D. was the youthful butt of excruciating jokes, or eggscruciating yolks”?
I came across the line, “In the orphanage he shared with Puss, H.D. was the youthful butt of excruciating jokes (or eggscruciating yolks).” in Time magazine’s review of the newly released animation, ...
2
votes
0answers
158 views
Shakespeare: “Asses are made to bear” [closed]
When Petruchio invites Katherine to sit on his lap, she replies, "Asses are made to bear, and so are you." (Taming of the Shrew Act II, Scene 1.)
The denotation is clear, donkeys (Equus africanus ...
1
vote
2answers
419 views
A pun or not a pun?
I was talking to someone about puns and she said that it's a play on words,
e.g. "those two pears are a pear of green balls" (sorry about the awful example, I couldn't think of any others on the ...
1
vote
1answer
179 views
How to use “no pun intended”?
The phrase "no pun intended" is often added after someone made a pun or something that could be considered a pun. If this should be taken literally (i.e. it really was unintentional), then I'm not ...
1
vote
3answers
289 views
What is the correct term for this juxtaposition of words?
He has a soft spot for playing hard ball
Not really a pun, I think. What is the exact term?
And correct me if the title can be made better.
1
vote
1answer
114 views
I can't make heads or tails of this paragraph. It's a complex pun. (Warning: mildly “bad language” and urban lingo.)
Here it is:
It's your brother's MR. T PUPPET, which of course is kept in the apartment with a sense of profound humorous irony. But as usual with your BRO's exploits, this is no ordinary irony, or ...
-1
votes
4answers
265 views
Literal antonym to “Outspoken” [closed]
I'm working on a humorous project in which one character is called the Outspoken Mime.
The adjective "outspoken" means the mime in question is "free, bold, or unreserved in speech." On one side, ...
