Pun

For the tool used in waterproofing a canal bed and suchlike, see Puddling (engineering).

A pun (also known as paronomasia) is a figure of speech, or word play which consists of a deliberate confusion of similar words within a phrase or phrases for rhetorical effect, whether humorous or serious. A pun can rely on the assumed equivalency of multiple similar words (homonymy), of different shades of meaning of one word (polysemy), or of a literal meaning with a metaphor.

Walter Redfern (in Puns, Blackwell, London, 1984) succinctly said: "To pun is to treat homonyms as synonyms." For example, a pun is used in the sentence "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".

A pun using heterophones, words with similar but inexact sounds, is called an imperfect pun. When a character or person does this unintentionally it is called a malapropism. An example of this is saying "the world is perspiring against me," as opposed to "the world is conspiring against me." Another example is someone referring to "prostrate cancer" instead of "prostate cancer." Bad puns are sometimes called "cheesy".

In order to be able to pun effectively it is necessary that a language must include homonyms which may readily be misrepresented as synonyms. Languages with complex gender or case structures tend not to facilitate this, although puns can be constructed in all languages with varying degrees of difficulty; that is, puns are said to be easy to construct in languages such as Chinese or English, but rarer in Russian.

Etymology

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 (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 Dictionary, which labels them "conjecture." (There is no creditable documentation for the notion that the word is a backronym for "play upon names".)

Perhaps the oldest puns are those used by the culture of the Hebrews and Jews, some found in the Bible and some still in modern use as insults or to ridicule to those seen as enemy to the tribe or religion. For example see Yeshu. Puns on the names of pharaohs of Egypt such as during the reign of Solomon, have been shown to provide dates of pharaoh reign or a time line to the stories.

Typology

Puns can be subdivided into several varieties:

• Homographic puns exploit the difference in meanings of words which look alike, or a word which has two or more meanings.
  For example: "Being in politics is just like playing golf: you are trapped in one bad lie after another." (Pun on the two meanings of lie - "a deliberate untruth"/"the position in which something rests").
• Homophonic puns which exploit the difference in meanings of words which look alike but have different pronunciations are technically Heteronymic, though this distinction is disused.
  For example: "Q: What instrument do fish like to play? A: A bass guitar." (Pun on the identical spelling of /beɪs/ (low frequency), and /bæs/ (a kind of fish)).

Homographic puns are sometimes compared to the stylistic device antanaclasis; homophonic puns, to polyptoton; but they are not identical.

The compound pun is one in which multiple puns are colocated for additional and amplified effect. Examples of this are the following:

Cornell linguist Charles Hockett told a story of a man who bought a cattle ranch for his sons and named it the "Focus Ranch" because it was where the sons raise meat (sun's rays meet).

A sign in a golf-cart shop reads "When drinking, don't drive. Don't even putt." (The puns are on "driving" and "putting" a golf ball, vs. "driving" a car or "putting" around in a golf cart.)

The last exchange of a knock knock joke runs: Q: "Eskimo Christians Italian who?" A: "Eskimo Christians Italian no lies." (The pun, involving an indeterminate number of sub-puns, is on the phrase "Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies".)

Extended puns occur when multiple puns referring to one general idea are used throughout a longer utterance. An example of this is the following story about a fight, with extended puns about cookery:

A fight broke out in a kitchen. Egged on by the waiters, two cooks peppered each other with punches. One man, a greasy foie gras specialist, ducked the first blows, but his goose was cooked when the other cold-cocked him. The man who beet him, a weedy salad expert with big cauliflower ears, tried to flee the scene, but was cornered in the maize of tables by a husky off-duty cob. He was charged with a salt and battery. He claims to look forward to the suit, as he's always wanted to be a sous-chef.

Or this one about various lower life forms:

I moss say I'm taking a lichen to that fun-gi, even though his jokes are in spore taste. Algae the first to say that they mushroom out of control.

Usage

Humor is the most common intent of puns in recent times. It is a form particularly admired in Britain, and forms 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 Whiteley was famed for his dextrous use of puns as host of the UK words and numbers game show Countdown.

While generally eschewed in more formal settings, puns of greater or lesser subtlety are employed to good effect by many popular artists and writers. For example, names based on puns (such as calling a character who is always almost late Justin Thyme) can be found in Piers Anthony's Xanth novels, The Eyre Affair, Asterix, Hamlet, The Simpsons, the Carmen Sandiego computer games, and many works of Spider Robinson, including the Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series. This is known as a gag name.

In music, puns often find their way into hip hop/rap music as clever delivery of punchlines. For example, those who diss rapper 50 Cent often use a play of words on his stage name. Chino XL is often regarded as an expert when it comes to delivering such puns, often in an aphoristic manner: ". . . My dreams--I still leave none (nun) dead like Mother Theresa / Trekked to be a star (Star Trek), show no emotion like data. . . "

Literary puns

In addition to works of popular culture, puns are also found in serious literature. See Alexander Pope, James Joyce, Vladimir Nabokov, Robert Bloch, and others discussed under word play. In the past, the serious pun was an important and standard rhetorical or poetic device, as in Shakespeare's Richard III:

"Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York"
(pun on homophony of son and sun)

(Shakespeare was also noted for his frequent play with less serious puns, the "quibbles" of the sort that made Samuel Johnson complain, "A quibble is to Shakespeare what luminous vapours are to the traveller! he follows it to all adventures; it is sure to lead him out of his way, sure to engulf him in the mire. It has some malignant power over his mind, and its fascinations are irresistible.")

John Donne is another who used serious puns in his work. For instance, he puns repeatedly on his own name (which is pronounced "Dun") in his poem "A Hymn to God the Father." Twice after imploring God to forgive certain kinds of sins and weaknesses, he ends a stanza by saying

"When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done/

Additionally, John Donne was married to Anne More:

"For I have more."

One interpretation could be that Donne is saying, "God, when you have forgiven me this much, you are not done (finished)/you do not have John Donne (safe yet), for I have more sins to confess." In the third stanza, having received assurance, counteracting his fears,

"that at my death Thy Son

"Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore"

(another Son/sun pun), he ends the poem

"And having done that, Thou hast done;

I fear no more."

A biblical pun of serious intent is found in Matthew 16.18:

"Thou art Peter" [Greek Πετρος, Petros], and upon this rock [Greek πετρα, petra] I will build my church."
(pun on the double meaning of petros/Petros: in the first part of the sentence the word appears to stand for a personal name, but in the second, petra ("rock") makes the listener reevaluate the first petros as its second meaning, "stone").

European heraldry contains the technique of canting arms, that can be considered punning. Visual puns, in which the image is at odds with the inscription, are also common in Dutch gable stones as well as in cartoons such as Lost Consonants or The Far Side.

Official puns

Official puns are rare, but there are a few, some of them intentional:

• K-9, pronounced "canine", for war dogs or police dogs follows the military pattern of designations, such as G-2.
• "Curb your dog", the command on former New York City street signs that combined a requirement to leash a dog with a requirement that dogs be taken to the gutter for defecation. The signs were replaced after pooper scooper laws were passed. (This pun only makes sense in American English; most other English variants use kerb as the noun and curb as the verb.)
• The U.S. 4th Infantry Division patch has four ivy leaves on it, from the Roman numeral for 4, IV. (This may be an example of canting arms; see above.) The German Flakgruppe Wachtel suggested as an emblem "^W/₈", achtel being German for "eighth".
• Although the amphibious military truck called a DUKW may appear to have a punning name, in fact the designation follows standard General Motors truck model designations from the World War II period.
• Ru-21 for the Russian chemical that allegedly allowed KGB agents to drink extreme amounts of alcohol without having a hangover. This spells the question "Are you twenty-one?", which is the question one could get when trying to buy alcohol in the United States
• "Thanks for the brake" on the back of buses in Victoria, BC, thanking the other motorists for allowing the stopped bus to reenter traffic flow as well as physically slowing down to permit this.
• Although the sensitive exposed nerve called the funny bone is located where the humerus joins the ulna at the elbow, there appears to be no punning intent. The funny bone is also called the crazy bone.

Pun in ancient chinese lineage

This surname is often mistakenely spelt as "Poon" in order to avoid clashes with the language technique of Pun. It is said that the present day bearers of the surname "Pun" or "Poon" are descendants of the imperial tomb guards of the late and final Qing dynasty in China. In an ancient chinese myth it is said that those belonging to the Pun family are said to of stemmed off the ancient slave of the Ming dynasty who beared the name of Ping. Ping however despite his heritage as a slave was said to of been a master of weaponary, and the Father to the vastly unpopular martial arts of Kidomyung. Recognising Ping's talents it is said that the first Khan, Huang Taiji upon his visit as an ambassador to the Ming dynasty purchased the slave from a goods dealer in Chang An. Later during the early 17th century as Huang taiji ascended to the throne as King of Machu-Jin dynasty it is noted that Ping was given the surname of Pun which carried the entitlements of Manchu-Jins top feudal noble class. After Huang's conquest of northern China, his kingdom was renamed Jin and Ping Pun was named Huang's Chief imperial guard, the only person entitled to any weaponary in the presence of an emperor. After Huang's death however and the ascension of prince Fulin, Ping due to his loyalty towards Huang taiji neglected to remain in his position of Chief Imperial Guard. Instead he requested permission from Fulin, the first manchu conqueror of current day China the permission to guard the tomb of Huang Taiji. Fulin, admired by Ping's loyalty was said to of created the post of imperial tomb guardian, a post only to be suceeded by those bearing the name of "Pun" (descendants of Ping) in honour of the loyalty of the great warrior. It is also noted that Ping was posthumously rewarded by a later emperor with the title of "Chief Imperial protector spirit," due to the miraculuos preservation of the Tomb of Huang taiji. The story regarding the ancestors of the Pun however is considered a myth or a fable due to the abscence of any historical recordings. Howver certain factual evidence such as the post humous titling have been found in ancient chinese historical transcripts. The Pun faimly today however are disbanded and the post of imperial tomb Guardian have been taken up by the growing role of science and technology.

Formats for punning

There are numerous pun formats:

• Tom Swifty
• Spoonerism
• Knock-knock joke
• Shaggy dog story
• Daffynition
• Transpositional pun
• Bilingual pun
• Malapropism

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

Main article: Type punning

A programming technique that subverts or circumvents the type system of a programming language 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 punning" in computer science.

Quotations

• "The pun is mightier than the sword." — original source unknown
• "As different as York from Leeds" — James Joyce in Finnegans Wake, 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 James
• "Pun (n.): the lowest form of humour" —Samuel Johnson, lexicographer
  • "Puns are the last refuge of the witless." —another way of stating the above
  • "…but the height of wit." —common rebuttal to the above
  • "A pun is the lowest form of humor, unless you thought of it yourself." — Doug Larson
  • "…but poetry is much verse." — original source unknown
  • "A pun is the lowest form of pastry." — original source unknown
  • "If puns are the lowest form of humor, are buns the lowest form of bread?" —Piers Anthony, Author
  • "A pun is the shortest distance between two straight lines." — original source unknown
• "Immanuel doesn't pun; he Kant." — original source unknown
• "Heralds don't pun; they cant." SCA heralds' expression
• "Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted." —Fred Allen
• "The goodness of the true pun is in the direct ratio of its intolerability." — Edgar Allan Poe, Marginalia, 1849
• "Those clothes are hardly proper for the occasion"... "They are OR scrubs"...."Oh are they?". -From the Feature Film, Rushmore.
• From the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Captain Aubrey: "Do you see those two weevils, Doctor?...Which would you choose?"

Dr. Maturin: "Neither. There's no difference between them. They're the same species of curculio."
Captain Aubrey: "If you had to choose."
Dr. Maturin: "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?"

Dr. Maturin: "He who would pun would pick a pocket."

See also

• Alliteration
• Albur
• Anagram
• Antanaclasis
• Auto-antonym
• dajare (puns in Japanese)
• Forster's Syndrome
• Humor
• Insult
• Letter game
• Mondegreen
• Neologism
• Palindrome
• Polyptoton
• Portmanteau
  • List of portmanteaux
• Riddle
• Double entendre

Sources

• Hempelmann, Christian F. (2004). "Script opposition and logical mechanism in punning". HUMOR - Journal of the International Association for Humor Studies. 17 (4): 381–392. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) (Access to the full text may be restricted.)

• Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920). Greek Grammar. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. pp. p. 681. ISBN 0-674-36250-0. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

External links

• Pun-based shop names
• The pun as a figure of speech
• alphaDictionary's Punny Pages
• On the relative (un)translatability of puns
• Pun of the Day
• PunGents
• PunLiners.com
• O. Henry Pun-Off annual competition in Austin, Texas (punPUNpun.com)
• Stefan's Bad Puns
• PunSite
• That's Punny - photo blog