Writer's Block, Essay,

One of the most lamentable signs of maturity must be the first time a child rolls his or her eyes at a knock-knock joke, the simplest and purest form of the much-maligned pun. There is a certain superiority that comes with that pre-pubescent groan, which, translated, says “I am too smart to laugh at your little joke. I am no longer entertained by your obvious humour.”

Sadly, it’s a short jump from that eye-roll to puberty, to spitting in public, to hot-wiring cars, to breaking and entering, to playing harmonica in an 8 by 10 cell, to the downfall of civilization. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Tolerance of, and respect for, the simple pun can free us from our haute, 21^st century, intellectually smug sense of humour.

Bad Puns, Good Citizens

Unlike its more respected cousins, Irony, Satire, and Wit, the pun is accessible to everyone. The pun is inclusive, community-oriented — the public servant of humour. Everyone “gets” at least one type of pun, and everyone can make one. Puns are verbal love-ins; all are welcome. In the world of jokes, they are the great social equalizers. Pun lovers range from the very young to the very old, from blue-collar workers to professionals. For example, the Pun American Newsletter (PAN) boasts “higher-than-expected circulation among doctors, lawyers, ministers, and teachers.” There’s a spot for everyone at the bar of so-called “bad” puns. Make mine a double:

What’s the difference between a Harley and a Hoover?
The location of the dirt bag.

Ahhhhh. Refreshing. The denominator for puns is common and widely shared. A basic knowledge of English synonyms and homonyms is all you need to find humour in the pun. For those whose tastes run to more intellectual entertainment, puns are uniquely accommodating. In the land of puns, intellectualism is on the same continuum as simplicity. The more intellectually challenging forms — transpositional and bilingual puns — are cut from the same cloth as the knock-knock joke or daffynition: words with multiple meanings or words with similar sounds. Where else can a child and a lawyer play with the same set of blocks than in the community of puns?

Once a Pun a Time

Puns have been dismissed, and defended, as long as they have existed. Shakespeare is reported to have written 1,062 plays on words (calculated by F. A. Bather): that’s 2,124 eyeballs rolling or 2,124 hands clapping, depending on your point of view. Puns have withstood the test of time and the dismissive criticisms of pooh-poohers like Charles Lamb: “A pun is not bound by the laws which limit nicer wit. It is a pistol let off at the ear, not a feather to tickle the intellect.” Come now, Mr. Lamb.

As Anthony Burgess rightly notes, “... plurality of reference is in the very nature of language, and its management and exploitation is one of the joys of writing.” What used to be considered the greatest novel of the 20^st century, James Joyce's Ulysses, is structured as a literary pun and full of word play, while what is unquestionably the most unreadable novel of any century, the same author's Finnegan's Wake, is little more than one very long, very elaborate play on words. The reputation of the pun has been rejuvenated in the post-age: the playfulness of much postmodern writing and the polysemy celebrated by poststructuralism both have raised the value of punning. Punning is part of a long and distinguished literary tradition. For the humourless and pedantic, surely at least that carries some sort of antique cachet.

Get Them While the Getting’s Good

Puns, like all good things, should be appreciated in the present. Homophonic puns rely on the fact that words with different meanings happen to be pronounced alike, a condition that is more temporary than we think. Pronunciation changes over time and can vary from place to place. Case in point: in Shakespeare’s King Henry IV, Falstaff says “If reasons were as plentiful as blackberries, I would give no man a reason upon compulsion (King Henry IV, Part 1, Act 2, Scene IV).” This is decidedly unfunny to modern ears. The word “reason” was at that time pronounced closer to “raisin,” which clarifies the pun, but unless you’re a linguist, the humour is lost. Think of how many current puns will be lost in a hundred years. The time to appreciate them is upun us!

Lighten Up, People

Despite the fact that puns are the secret to community cohesion and happiness, enjoy a long literary tradition, and are an endangered commodity, “excuse the pun” has become the punster’s reflex apology, as if punning were a form of public flatulence. If the constant groans of non-receptive audiences were not enough to dampen the flames of pun love, puns have been the target of numerous offenses, such as Leonard L. Levinson definition of the pun as “a joke based on the infirmities of language.” Guilty wolves preying on the defenseless fawns of English? A bit harsh for an innocent spoonerism, I think. Note to punsters: Save your apologies for things you should be ashamed of, like your Dungeons and Dragons strategies and your English-to-Klingon dictionary. Puns are as pure as puppies or moonlit walks on the beach or whatever good people like, so revel in your righteousness.

Edgar Allen Poe said it best: “Of puns it has been said that those who most dislike them are those who are least able to utter them.” So there.

The Pun Arsenal

A pun is the humorous use of a word to suggest different meanings, or of words of the same sounds and different meanings (Canadian Oxford Dictionary). Celebrate the pun in all of its glorious forms:

Knock-knock joke: Junior punsters cut their teeth on the knock-knock joke, a role-playing exercise between a punster and a recipient. Knock, knock. Who's there? Madam. Madam who? Madam key broke in the lock!
Tom Swifty: Tom Swifties are named after the Tom Swift American adventure novels. The author, Victor Appleton (pseudonym), described every action with an adverb. “You should go clean the lawn,” Tom said rakishly. “Those knives are dangerous,” Tom said pointedly. “I’m of greater value to you every day,” Tom said appreciatively.
Spoonerism: The spoonerism takes its name from the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), who was in the habit of switching letters when he spoke. Most famously, Reverend Spooner is quoted as having said in the chapel “The lord is a shoving leopard,” and “Mardon me padam, this pie is occupewed. Can I sew you to another sheet?” One famous Canadian spoonerism occurred on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which the announcer identified as the “Canadian Broadcorping Castration.”
Daffynition: A daffynition is a reinterpretation of an existing word based on the sound of the word. Coffee: a person who is coughed upon.
Transpositional puns: A transpositional pun is a complicated pun format that involves a clever redefinition of a well-known word through the transposition of words in an otherwise well-known phrase or saying. They are among the most difficult puns to create, and for non-native English speakers, the most difficult to understand. One of the best known is “Hangover: The wrath of grapes.”
Bilingual pun: A bilingual pun is a pun in which a word in one language is similar to a word in another language. Which is better, snow or milk? Better leite than neve. (In Portuguese, leite is milk and neve is snow.)

Lorie Boucher is a Contributing Editor for Writer’s Block.

Source: Wikipedia

In Defence of the Lowly Pun

Bad Puns, Good Citizens

Once a Pun a Time

Get Them While the Getting’s Good

Lighten Up, People