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Everybody loves a good joke. Or even a bad one sometimes. But we all love to laugh at something, even if you are laughing at the joke teller in a mocking way instead of at the joke itself. One of the best kinds of jokes, but often one of the worst, is a pun. It often takes the form of wordplay, where the humour of the joke lies in the double meaning of a word or the ability to mistake one meaning for another.
Let me tell you a few here so you can get the idea.
| ~ My ex-wife still misses me. But her aim is slowly improving. |
| ~ Jokes about unemployed people are not funny. They just don’t work. |
| ~ Large pieces of Velcro are just a big rip-off. |
The premise behind these puns is that there is a word involved which has a double meaning. For example in the “ex-wife” joke, the word “misses” is the focus of the humour. We first think that it means that the person is longing for their ex-partner. But in the end we see that it means she is not hitting the target, being her ex-husband. Funny stuff.
Another great kind of pun is the quick, two line joke. It has a set up and then a punchline. Let’s look at a few examples here.
| ~ You shouldn’t make fun of fat people. They have enough on their plates already. |
| ~ I Googled “how to start a fire”. I got 48,000 matches. |
| ~ How do you organize a fantastic space themed party? You planet. |
Sure, they are cringe worthy and sure to elicit a groan or two from all those who hear them, but you have to admit, they are still funny on some level. Sometimes the humour in these jokes is just how bad they really are. Which is why you have to laugh, otherwise you would cry.
To finish up, let’s have a look at some of the very best puns around.
| ~ To whoever took my Microsoft Office, I will find you. You have my Word.. |
| ~ I wondered why the ball was getting bigger. And then it hit me. |
| ~ I am reading this book on anti-gravity. I can’t put it down. |
| ~ About a month before he died, my uncle had his back covered in lard. After that, he went down hill fast. |
| ~ Thanks for explaining the word “many” to me. It means a lot. |
| ~ I just found out I am colourblind. It came completely out of the purple. |
| ~ Don’t trust atoms. They make up everything. |
| ~ The inventor of the Hokey Pokey died recently. At his funeral when they tried to bury him, they put his left foot in and then all the trouble started. |
That’s enough bad jokes now. But as you can see, a joke doesn’t need to be clever or interesting or indeed good at all for it still to be at least a little bit funny. Sometimes it is all in the delivery. Maybe this week you can try out some of your favourite puns on your friends. Good luck trying to make them laugh.
K. Charles
Born in Adelaide, South Australia, senior staff member Kym has been teaching at Callan Barcelona since September 2013. Previously, he studied his TEFL course in Prague (Czech Republic). Kym is a very well-seasoned traveller and has been to over 30 countries worldwide, including 22 in Europe.
An avid hiker, he has been all over the Iberian peninsula from Pamplona to Granada, and did the Camino de Santiago in 2018. He also enjoys writing and playing the guitar.
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