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Pun/Wordplay
Fenway Donegan
Definitions
• Pun: also called a paronomasia, a pun is a play on the multiple
meanings of a word or on two words that sound alike but have
different meanings.
• Wordplay: the witty exploitation of the meanings and ambiguities of
words
Types of Puns
• Homophonic Puns: created by substituting one word for a similar-sounding word.
“I bet the butcher the other day that he couldn’t reach the meat that was on the top shelf.
He refused to take the bet, saying that the steaks were too high.”
• Homographic Puns: created in one of two ways: either by using a word that has two
different meanings, or by substituting a word with the exact same spelling as the word
for which it was substituted.
“Did you hear about the optometrist who fell into a lens grinder and made a spectacle of
himself?”
• Homonymic puns: created from the exploitation of words which are both homographs
and homophones.
“Being in politics is just like playing golf: you are trapped in one bad lie after another”
• Compound Puns: made by using a string of two or more words that sound similar to a
string of different words.
“Santa’s helpers are subordinate Clauses.”
More examples of Puns
• I was wondering why the ball was getting close, but then it hit me!
• Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He
was lucky it was a soft drink.
• A friend of mine tried to annoy me with bird puns, but I soon realized that
toucan play at that game.
• I heard Apple is designing a new automatic car. But they're having trouble
installing windows.
• What's the definition of a will? It's a dead giveaway.
Did you Know
• Shakespeare is estimated to have used over 3000 puns in his plays.
Sources
• http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-funny-puns-andpunny-funs.htm