Pun

A pun (also known as paronomasia) is a figure of speech which consists of a deliberate confusion of similar words 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.

Typology

Puns can be subdivided into several varieties:

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• Homographic puns are puns which exploit the difference in meanings of words which look alike (and usually sound alike).
  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").
• Homographic 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 /be?s/ (low frequency), and /bæs/ (a kind of fish)).
• Homophonic puns are puns which exploit the difference in meanings of words which sound alike but have different spellings.
  For example, "I've no idea how worms reproduce but you often find them in /pers/." (Pun on the identical pronunciation of "pears" and "pairs").
• Double-sound, where words which are similar but not identical are intentionally confused.
  For example: "What do you call an inverse chicken? Poultry." (Pun on the similar-sounding "in verse" and "poetry").

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

Related Topics:
Stylistic device - Antanaclasis - Polyptoton

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

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:Three brothers asked their mother to think of a name for their cattle-ranch. She suggested Focus Ranch, which rather puzzled them until she explained that "'Focus' means where the sun's rays meet (sons raise meat)."

Related Topics:
Cattle - Ranch

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: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.)

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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:

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: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.

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