Definition of Pun
A pun is a literary device that is also known as a “Play on words.” Puns involve words with similar or identical sounds but with different meanings. Their play on words also relies on a word or phrase having more than one meaning. Puns are generally intended to be humorous, but they often have a

serious purpose as well in literary works

Sometimes puns are difficult to understand, even for native English speakers



There are two ways to create a pun
  1. Use words that sound the same but have different meanings

    Examples
    • red/read
    • two/to/too
    • need/knead

  2. Use a word that has multiple meanings

    Examples
    • fly = insect
    • fly = move through the air
    • saw = past tense of see
    • saw = a tool that cuts wood


Let's look at a few examples of puns

?How do celebrities stay cool
!They have many fans

This pun is using two words that have multiple meanings: cool and fan

Cool can be defined as
  1. (cold not hot)
  2. awesome and popular


A fan can be defined as
  1. something that you use when you are warm
  2. someone who likes you and supports you


So, this pun has two meanings
  1. Celebrities do not get hot because they can cool themselves with fans

  2. Celebrities are popular because they have many people who like them




Here is another example of a pun

When she got married, she got a new name and a dress

This is a pun using words that have the same sound but different meanings
  1. (When a woman marries, she changes her name and she buys a wedding dress a dress)

  2. She also moves out of her parent's home to live with her husband, so she gets a new address



American English puns
Math teachers have lots of problems
  • problems = math equations or puzzles
  • problems = troubles, difficulties


Two silkworms had a race. They ended up in a tie
  • tie = finishing the race at the same time
  • tie = a necktie worn by men, sometimes made from silk



I used to work at an orange juice factory, but I was canned
  • canned = fired; released from a job
  • canned = put into a can like juice


To write with a broken pencil is pointless
  • pointless = stupid, worthless
  • pointless = does not have a sharp tip



A backwards poet write inverse
  • inverse = backward, opposite
  • in verse = in rhyme


The thief who stole the calendar got 12 months.
  • There are 12 months on a calendar.
  • The thief could be put in prison for 12 months for stealing.


Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana
  • Time flies like an arrow. = Time flies (moves) fast like an arrow moves fast
  • Fruit flies like a banana. = Fruit flies (insects) like to eat bananas.


!Why did the turkey cross the road? To prove he wasn't chicken
  • chicken = an animal
  • chicken = scared



I used to be twins. My mother has a picture of me when I was two
  • twins = two identical children
  • two = an age; two years old
  • two = two people