When is a Door
not a Door?
When it’s a
JAR!
And you knew it was coming eventually! My propensity (proPUNsity!) for puns and wordplay! SPOILER ALERT – you might groan at some of them!
Full Disclosure: I am always trying to think of puns, much to the consternation of my family, friends and colleagues!
DOUBLE Full Disclosure: So many puns to cook up, so little thyme for them all! Deal with it!
By definition a pun is:
PUN (Dictionary.com)
Noun: the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words.
the word or phrase used in this way.
Verb: (used without object), punned, pun·ning.
to make puns.
Pun (Merriam-Webster)
Noun: Definition of pun (Entry 1 of 2)
: the usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound
Verb: punned; punning
Definition of pun (Entry 2 of 2)
intransitive verb: to make puns
Even Wikipedia has a Pun entry! And no, I did not contribute to it!
And as William Shakespeare said, ‘Aye, there’s the rub“, which comes from perhaps his most famous soliliqoy in Hamlet, you know … the one about a pair of bees!
And the ‘rub’ part Ole Bill is referencing is in the Merriam-Webster definition which includes the two words “usually humorous“! And thus the punishment begins!
Why Do Puns Make People Groan? “Puns are threatening because puns reveal the arbitrariness of meaning, and the layers of nuance that can be packed onto a single word,”
Word Nerd: Ode to the pun — ‘the lowest form of humour …’ Puns have been much maligned by a host of commentators. Freud described puns as “cheap,” and Oliver Wendell Holmes assailed them as “verbicide.” …. Punning has been a language fixture through the ages.
And that is very true! The greatest Punster of ALL TIME is … William Shakespeare!
And there are even some particularly punny NUMBERS as well! The punnist number of all time is ‘288‘. Why should this number NEVER be mentioned in conversation? Because it is two gross.
But even puns can be ruined by the nature of their origin or their historical context. And that includes Ole Bill too with a very saucy pun … at the time!
Romeo and Juliet, Prologue:
“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes,
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.”
The word ‘loins’ would originally have been pronounced the same as ‘lines’.
This pun refers to the fatal blood lines of Romeo and Juliet – the families that they descended from are the reason for their death, as well as their ‘loins’ (their physical relationship).
Kinda ‘runes’ the moment when any joke is dissected …. or explained! Sheesh! Get with the program, Bill!
In my o-pun-ion, puns are the highest level of .. funny! I admit, they don’t always work, but when they dew, the subsequent tsunami of rolling eyes, repressed rage and ‘Get thee to a winery!” looks are worth it!
A specialized sub-set of puns are Dad Jokes! Yup, I qualify there too! Nothing better than getting an eye roll from my daughter! It is in every Dad Job Description and we have to meet all our Dad obligations!
Star Trek, Star Wars and just about any pop culture media is rife with puns, memes and running jokes! Although how a Horta runs is Star Trek:Beyond me!
And who can argue with Obi-Pun-Kenobi!
And I even own a book on puns, entitled ‘Upon the Pun” …. a crisp analysis of verbal and visual ambiguities … extremely entertaining anthology of frightful jokes ….”
I can lend it to anyone …. anyone? anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
And of course, computers are not immune to puns and jokes, in fact, some of the best jokes are technology based!
How am I with PowerPoint?
You could say I Excel at it.
That one even made ME cringe … but Full Disclosure: I still intend to use it one day! BEWARE!
OH, and I could go on, but I better knot!
Enjoy!
- Why Do Puns Make People Groan?
- Word Nerd: Ode to the pun — ‘the lowest form of humour …’
- Shakespearean Puns
- 20 SHAKESPEARE PUNS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE AWFUL
- 15 of History’s Greatest Puns
- 99 Funniest Dad Jokes
- Fourteen Computer Puns That Only Tech Heads Will Understand
- 25 Computer Puns That Will LAN You In A Pool Of Laughter
- The 10 Best Dad Jokes In Shakespeare
- Computer Puns
As long as there are words out there, there will be interesting topics!
ENJOY!
TTFN!
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Get a Laugh Every Time
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At the point of hesitation, I repeat the request, ‘Count for me”. Now, about 50% of the time, I get the same response, but the fascinating part of this is that now, I can get a 
You now need to see the ‘new language’ (code) that I was introducing to my computer science class at the time.
The hardest premise to learn, is always the 
Many years ago, I remember teaching a Beginner’s Computer Science course at night. And one topic was always how computers do the wrong thing. Apart from the discussion that computers only do what the programmer coded, the one actual event (apparently) was when a computer transation program was used at an Engineering Symposium and all of a sudden, the transcript included the term ‘Water Sheep‘. And it wasn’t wrong! It was a literal translation of … HYDRAULIC RAMS! It was right in a computer codey kind of way! Helpful? Not so much! LOL!
Many blogs now add a 
That is actually amazing! Part Scanner. Part Google Translate. Part Dictionary. Part Internet. Part …. United Nations, all in the palm of your hand!
