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A pun (also known as paronomasia) is a play on words
that transposes the meanings of words with similar sounds. This is usually for humorous
effect, although one well known pun of serious intent is found in the Bible:
Matthew 16.18:
- "Thou art Peter [Greek Πετρος, Petros], and upon this rock [Greek
πετρα, petra] I will build my church." (Note that while petra is "rock", the
word for "stone" in general is petros, or πετρος.)
The word pun itself is thought to be originally a contraction of the (now archaic) pundigrion. This latter
term is thought to have originated from punctilious, which itself derived from the Italian puntiglio (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 Dictionary, which nonetheless labels them
"conjecture".
Although there are several varieties of puns, there are two main linguistic methods for creating them:
- Homographic, in which where the pun exploits a word with
multiple meanings. For example: "Being in politics is just like playing golf: you are trapped in one bad lie after
another."
- Homophonic, in which the pun exploits two words with similar
sounds. For example: "A chicken crossing the road is pure poultry [like poetry] in motion."
The compound pun is one in which multiple puns are colocated for additional and amplified effect. An example
of this is the following story:
- A woman had three sons who emigrated from Ireland to the USA. They prospered and soon became the
owners of a large cattle ranch. They weren't,
however, sure what to call it, so they wrote back to their mother for advice. She sent a one-word reply on a postcard:
Focus. Puzzled, they wrote back for an explanation. Her response was: "It's where the sons raise meat" ["Sun's rays
meet"]. (Trivial aside: this pun seems to have inspired a number of real Focus Ranches, for example: http://www.coloradoduderanches.com/focus-ranch/.)
Sometimes puns can be used in a name. For instance the name Justin Tyme sounds like "just in time". This sort of
naming is found in many works of fiction, for example, The Eyre
Affair and the Carmen Sandiego computer games.
Puns are also found in serious literature. See Alexander Pope,
James Joyce, Vladimir Nabokov, and others discussed under word
play.
Numerous pun formats exist:
See also
Quotations
- "He that would pun, would pick a pocket" —Alexander Pope,
punster
- "Blunt and I made atrocious puns. I believe, indeed, that Miss Blunt herself made a little punkin, as I called it"
—Henry James
- "Pun (n.): the lowest form of humour" —Samuel
Johnson, lexicographer
- "…but the height of wit" —common rebuttal to the above
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