Pun

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A Pun is a humorous word play that exploits multiple phrase meanings.

  • Context:
  • Example(s):
    • I entered a pun contest last year. Sent in ten different puns, in the hope that at least one of them would win. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did.”.
    • Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.”.
    • If you’re going through Hell, keep going.”.
    • Going vegetarian is a missed steak.”.
    • Last night, I kept dreaming that I had written Lord of the Rings. The wife said I'd been Tolkien in my sleep.”.
  • Counter-Example(s):
  • See: Synonyms, Homophone.


References

2018

  • (Wikipedia, 2018) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pun Retrieved:2018-11-8.
    • The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophonic, homographic, metonymic, or figurative language. A pun differs from a malapropism in that a malapropism is an incorrect variation on a correct expression, while a pun involves expressions with multiple correct interpretations. Puns may be regarded as in-jokes or idiomatic constructions, as their usage and meaning are specific to a particular language and its culture.

      Puns have a long history in human writing. The Roman playwright Plautus was famous for his puns and word games, for example.