The Pun
Uploaded by
joanne GroselThe Pun
Uploaded by
joanne GroselTHE PUN
A pun is a clever and amusing use of a word or phrase (word play) with two meanings, or of
words with the same sound but different meanings.
For example, if someone says
'The peasants are revolting', this is a pun because it can be interpreted as meaning either
that the peasants are fighting against authority, or that they are disgusting.
When used by mistake or unintentionally, the person might say, ‘Pardon the pun.’
Example:
My mum tried to make a joke about something she’d seen on TV, but it wasn’t remotely
funny. Pardon the pun.
Puns often rely on homophones, homographs or homonyms.
- I want to be a doctor, but I don't have enough patience.
Word type Explanation Examples
homophones Words that have the same pair - a set of two
pronunciation but different pear - a type of fruit
meanings, origins or spelling.
They can cause confusion in spoken flour - an ingredient for baking
language because they sound flower - a blooming plant
identical, so context is extremely
important. break - to separate into pieces
brake - a device for slowing a vehicle
homographs Words that have the same spelling
but different meanings and may have bow - to bend at the waist
different pronunciations and tend to bow - a decorative knot
cause confusion in writing.
tear - to rip something
tear - a drop of liquid from the eye
lead - a type of metal
lead - to guide or direct
homonyms Words that have the same spelling bark - the outer covering of a tree
and pronunciation but different bark - the sound a dog makes
meanings.
Considered a combination of bank - a financial institution
homophones and homographs and bank - the side of a river
thus cause confusion in both speaking
and writing. bat - a flying mammal
bat - a piece of sports equipment
FUN WITH PUNS
Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off?
He’s all right now.
This absolutely hilarious pun plays on the homophones 'alright' and 'all right'. The joke is
that the man who had his left side cut off would be in a terrible state, but the punchline
reveals that he is actually 'alright' now, meaning he is doing well or fine. The pun relies on
the double meaning of 'all right', which means that he only has a right side now because his
left side was removed. He consists only of his right side, so he is ALL right.
Did you hear about the bicycle that couldn’t ’t stand on its own?
Yeah, it was two-tyred.
Here we have the homophones 'too tired' and 'two-tyred.' We need to understand that ‘too
tired’ means exhausted while ‘two-tyred' means having two wheels. The bike couldn’t stand
on its own because something with two tyres will obviously fall over, but you also might not
be able to stand if you are exhausted. So… too tired. Hilarious!
Why are postmen so unhappy all the time? Because they are
given the sack every morning.
Now we can see how homonyms can also be used to make puns. Here we are playing with
the double meaning of the phrase 'given the sack.' In this context, 'given the sack' means to
be fired or dismissed from a job. The joke is that postmen are 'given the sack' every morning
because they are given a bag or ‘sack’ to carry the post in.
There is a fine line between a numerator and a denominator. It’s
okay if you didn’t get that — only a fraction will understand.
This is actually a two-for-one! We have two puns in one joke. First, in mathematics, a
fraction is a numerical quantity that represents a part of a whole, expressed as a numerator
over a denominator. The joke is that there is a ‘fine line’, which is a reference to the
horizontal line that separates them in a fraction, but ‘fine line’ also means ‘a very small
difference’.
The second joke is that the word ‘fraction’ means ‘a small number’ outside of its
mathematical meaning. So, only a small number of people will understand the joke.
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put
down!
This one uses the double meaning of 'put down.' The book is so interesting that you don't
want to put it down, but also, anti-gravity means that things don't fall down, so the book
literally can't be put down.
Why don't oysters give to charity? Because they're shellfish!
This one plays with homophones. 'Selfish' refers to someone who only thinks of themselves,
which sounds an awful lot like 'shellfish', which refers to the fact that oysters have shells.
What'd the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing, it just let
out a little whine.
Another homophone! 'Whine' is a play on words with 'wine' since grapes are used to make
wine. Also, when something hurts, it can make you 'whine', which is a long, high-pitched,
often unpleasant sound.
QUIZ!
Choose the correct answer for each question.
1) What is the term for words that have the same pronunciation but different
meanings, origins or spelling?
a. homophones
b. homographs
c. homonyms
2) Which of the following pairs is an example of homophones?
a. sell and cell
b. bow and bow
c. park and bark
3) Homographs have the same __________ but different meanings and may have
different pronunciations.
a. origins
b. pronunciation
c. spellings
4) What is the term for words that have the same spelling and pronunciation but
different meanings?
a. homophones
b. homographs
c. homonyms
5) Puns often rely on which of the following?
a. synonyms
b. homophones
c. antonyms
6) Which of the following is a pun?
a. I used to be a baker, but I didn't make enough dough.
b. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
c. She's as hungry as a lion!
7) Based on what you've learnt about puns, which of the following is a characteristic of
a well-crafted pun?
a. They make people angry.
b) They are easily understood by everyone.
c) They require play on words to create a humourous effect.
8) Complete the pun. The maths book looked sad because it had too many ________.
a. questions
b. problems
c. equations