pun

A pun is a form of wordplay that exploits the multiple meanings of a word or words that sound alike to produce a humorous or rhetorical effect. Puns rely on ambiguity or phonetic similarity, and they can appear in jokes, poetry, headlines, advertising, and everyday speech. They are a common device across languages, often used to engage an audience or to draw attention to a concept.

Common types of puns include homophonic puns, which rely on words that sound alike but have different meanings; homographic puns, which rely on a single spelling with multiple meanings; compound puns, which combine two or more wordplays; and recursive puns, which require the audience to recognize the word’s meanings to resolve the joke.

Illustrative examples include a homophonic pun such as “I used to be a baker, but I couldn’t make enough dough,” where dough refers to both bread and money; and a well-known line like “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana,” which relies on a syntactic twist and multiple senses of flies. These examples show how puns can work through sound, spelling, or structure.

Historically, puns have ancient roots and are discussed under the broader figure paronomasia in classical rhetoric. They appear in Greek and Latin literature and are widely used by writers such as Shakespeare. In modern times, puns persist in literature, journalism, advertising, and online media, valued for wit and linguistic insight as well as for entertainment.

Perception of puns varies; they are often regarded as light or lowbrow humor, but they also reflect creative manipulation of language and can illuminate connections between meanings and sounds.