I. pun 1 /pʌn/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: Probably from pundigrion 'pun' (17-19 centuries) , perhaps from Italian puntiglio ; ⇨ ↑ punctilious ]
an amusing use of a word or phrase that has two meanings, or of words that have the same sound but different meanings SYN play on words
forgive/excuse/pardon the pun (=used to show you know you are making a pun)
no pun intended (=used to show you do not mean to make a joke about something)
The clergy prey (no pun intended) on bereaved families.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ joke a funny story that you tell people to make them laugh:
We all sat around telling jokes.
|
Have you heard the joke about the man who found a frog in his soup?
▪ funny story a short story that someone tells to make people laugh:
He was one of those guys who are good at telling funny stories at dinner parties.
▪ gag a short joke, especially one told by a professional entertainer:
He’s a great comedian, with plenty of good gags.
▪ one-liner a very short joke or funny remark:
There are some memorable one-liners in the film.
▪ wisecrack a funny remark or reply, especially one that is said in a very quick and clever way:
It’s a comic masterpiece, packed with classic wisecracks.
▪ pun ( also play on words ) a joke made by mixing up two different meanings of the same word, or two words with the same sound:
a pun on the words ‘bear’ and ‘bare’
|
The title of the book is a witty play on words.
|
Shakespeare used a lot of puns for comic effect.
▪ quip written something funny and clever that someone says:
He made some friendly quip about hair loss, and everyone laughed.
II. pun 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle punned , present participle punning ) [intransitive]
to make a pun
pun on
In this line, Hamlet puns on the meaning of ‘saw’.