As far as I am concerned, there are few things in life better than a clever pun. Some may call it cheesy humour (especially the above cartoon, which I came across here) and some may groan in disgust at the best plays on words, but for me, the mixture of intelligence and wit that produces a truly good pun simply can't be beaten.
And so it is with great excitement that I introduce to you a new weekly segment on Smithereens: Wordplay Wednesdays (well it was either that or Monday Pun Day...) Be sure to tune in every humpday to read the best examples of humourous word wizardry that I can track down.
Or if you're a party pooper who calls all puns "bad jokes" (the irreverence!), then you may want to just ignore my blog midweek.
WORDPLAY WEDNESDAY NUMBER 1
The best puns, in my opinion, are the spur-of-the-moment clever quips that take advantage of real life circumstances and consider the context in which they are being spoken. By definition these can't be forced or overdone - they are just the right words, said at the right time, in the right tone of voice.
To demonstrate what I mean; I personally received the perfect setup for a context-relevant zinger just a week or so ago. At a meeting of the Young Construction Executives Club (a subcommittee of the Ottawa Construction Association), we were discussing a possible volunteering opportunity for our members with the local Habitat for Humanity Chapter.
"They are going to be holding a Women's Build this summer," the chairman said, "and will require a few industry professionals on each site to show the volunteers how to do things like install drywall.""So what you're saying," I replied, "Is that they are on the lookout for strapping young men?"
Now if you knew that nailing a piece of wood across two studs to support a drywall slab is called "strapping", you would hopefully appreciate the double entendre, and given the context of that meeting, everyone in the room did.
Of course, if you didn't know that, or if you simply hate puns, you probably just rolled your eyes so far back into your head that they may be gone for good. (And if it's the latter, I have to ask, why are you still reading... a sucker for pun-ishment?)
Of course, not every good pun is blurted out in real-time (and many bad ones are!), there are many clever lines that people presumably just thought of and wrote down, and then told someone who liked it, who told someone else... and so on and so forth until they trickled down to the lowly writer of Smithereens.
So I guess today is a Bonus Wordplay Wednesday, because I'm going to give you a second pun (well, fourth really, if you count the mice and the sucker-punch.)It is one of the latter types and is probably my favourite of all time. I don't know who made it up or where I first read it, but whoever did should be given a Medal of Honour for Brave Wit.
A writer hears about a contest to find the Best Pun in the World. He really wanted to win, so he painfully crafted not just one, but ten separate puns, and submitted them all to increase his odds. He thought for sure that with so many entries, at least one of his would win, but alas, in the end, no pun in ten did. (Cue rimshot)
What about you - Think you've got a better groaner than that? Well let me know in the comments! The best submission (ie: the one that makes me laugh the hardest) will make it into next week's segment. Until then!
Smith,
It's unfortunate you are only gracing your blog with puns on Wednesdays. As the saying goes "seven days without puns makes one weak"
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! lol
I loved that one j, you're going in this week's segment for sure ;)
Daniel
I have two. The first one is my own from a Bible study with a group of friends. My friend Paul was complaining that he hated shaving and wished there was a way to shave once and never shave again, to which I promptly replied, "You mean, like, once shaved, always shaved?"
And second, a group of monks in Los Angeles started selling flowers in upper-class neighborhoods to raise money for the poor. They knocked on the door of Hugh Hefner, who did not appreciate the monks in his neighborhood, regardless of their agenda. He called his lawyer, who went to city hall; the city elders passed an ordinance against selling flowers door to door, which goes to show that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.
@Sarah Jo - Thanks for the contributions.
I had heard a variation of the florist friars one somewhere, but it's a knee-slapper for sure. The Bible study one was really funny too - for those of you who may not know, "Once saved, always saved" is a Christian (Calvinist) doctrine called Perseverance of the Saints, referring to the belief that you can't ever lose your salvation once you have truly accepted Christ. Bonus points for context!
@jacqueline -
Speaking of context, I forgot to mention that your pun was so apropos to my post it blew me away! Kudos lol
Keep them coming!
Daniel Smith