Q & A: What’s So Punny?

By Kimberly Johnson

  

I’m always looking for a good laugh. I tried watching Last Comic Standing on NBC. I parked my remote on the Comedy Central with no results. I found my funny a couple of Sundays ago via Youtube. CBS Sunday Morning featured the 37^th O. Henry Pun-Off Championships (It was a free event, 11a -3p). Reporter Lee Cowan traveled to Austin, Texas to interview entrants and the 2014 winner Alexandra Petri. (She made puns of every US president in chronological order).

In Romania I made hotel reservations. I was so tired I had to BUCHAREST.

I’ll admit it—I’m not well-versed on puns. So, I decided to go on a fact-finding mission:

Q: What is a pun?

A: Informal definition: A play on words and their meaning. Formal definition: A joke exploiting the possible meanings of a word.

Function: A pun shapes how the reader interprets the text.

The pigs were a squeal.

Q: Are there different types of puns?

A: Yes. Homophonic puns feature word pairs that sound alike but have different meanings. Homographic puns spotlight words that have the same spelling but have a different sound and connotation. Homonymic puns use words which are homophones and homographs. A compound pun uses two or more puns at a time.

Nothing makes me SYCAMORE than some guy using all those cheezy pickup lines like a DOGWOOD.

Q: Who uses a pun and why?

A: A writer can demonstrate a character’s quick wit. William Shakespeare is a famous punster.

“Winter of our discontent” was “made glorious summer by this Son [son] of York.” (Richard III)

How to be a punster?

Listen closely when your friends are talking. Find a play on words that you can use to construct your pun. Keep it in the context of the conversation.

Want more information? Try the O. Henry Pun-Off website, http://punoff.com. It features cool stuff like Noose You Can Use and Punslingers.

Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com, http://literarydevices.net, http://www.innovateus.net, www.ehow.com