Erika Luo- Week 3 - What do you call an alligator who's a detective?
An investi-gator! See what I did there? That’s what our society calls “a bad pun.” Does this mean that this joke was necessarily a really terrible joke? Not really. It wasn’t outwardly offensive toward any controversial topic, nor did it not make sense at all. The reason why we call these types of jokes “bad” is because the feeling of cringe that it gives once it was delivered. That’s mainly why I love giving these types of jokes. They do require some effort to come up with these puns yourself, and most of the time they cause a reaction when your audience hears you say them. If you were really lazy, you could look them up easily online. All you have to do is type “puns” into Google and bam, free puns.
I also find it interesting to see how many topics that you can integrate puns into. Puns are essentially clever wordplay that is delivered in a theatrical manner. There are puns relating to science, math, food, animals, space; you name it, there’s probably a pun for it somewhere.
Another way that people use puns is in pick-up lines. Pick-up lines are basically coquettish puns that people use to try to make the receiving blush or feel bashful. I find it so interesting how some people can find a boyfriend/grilfriend just by cracking a pun on them.
Knowing when and where to make a pun is important for people who use humor as a defense mechanism. I myself often resort to humor when communicating with others so I really need to pay attention to the scenario at hand, and whether or not it is appropriate for me to make a pun at the expense of the situation. I think comedians in this sense have a lot of power. The types of puns of jokes that they use can change the atmosphere of the room. For now though, I will just focus on making puns to make people either laugh in either exasperation or joy.
Comments
I also love puns. I find that they are often so childish in an enjoyable way and often help me forget my troubles. I used to always use puns in birthday cards, and now I am inspired to do it again. You pointed out how puns are usually non-intrusive and nice, and I agree. Oftentimes, being rude is perceived as being funny, so puns are a nice refresher. I think it is nice how you want to continue making people laugh, because laughter is very important. I hope puns will make a comeback in the future.
It was inevitable that someone would do a blog on puns! I applaud you for making your blog engaging by utilizing puns in the text. Regarding wordplay, I do believe that delivery is half the formula to an effective pun; it’s all about confidence! It’s also funny to think that pick-up lines are essentially just puns but for a different reason. I guess the witty factor of making these kinds of jokes can be appealing to others, but my goodness, they can be embarrassing.
-Angel
I find this blog to be quite the (p)unny!(That was terrible yes I know). I agree with you that a pun should have a good delivery to make it funny or else it will be awkward. I have been in that situation and it was so bad…as a child, honestly puns were so fun to make and really, they deserve a place in our society again!
Puns are literally just dad core because they love a good play on words. I like puns too but a pick-up line is where it's at. Pick-up lines are the best when trying to fool around with a friend, crush (while trying to make a move ig), and boyfriend/girlfriend. I love it when people just think of pickup lines at the top of their head and it makes absolute no sense but it did in their head LOL.
Sincerely,
Mrinmayee
I enjoyed reading your post. I had never put this much thought into puns before, and reading this post definitely made me appreciate puns a lot more. My favorite puns to hear are those related to science. I have often seen puns being used to make presentations more engaging and get an audience’s attention. Puns are a good way to make a situation less serious without completely distracting the audience.
This topic is pretty interesting as I think puns are like the child version of what stand-up comedians make a living out of. Puns are just a thing to enjoy as well as dad jokes when around a group of people. They really capture everyone's attention while leading up to moments of awkwardness. The fact that makes it fun and enjoyable is that is pretty corny at the least and just shows the lack of effort to pull off.
I love using puns ironically or seriously! Oftentimes I find myself making puns to my friends only to find them fake laughing or forcing themselves to laugh. What I love about puns is the cringiness it brings, and peoples’ reactions to puns are just hilarious. I agree with you how puns use creative wordplay on words and the meaning that comes with it. How did people on the Internet come up with so many puns? I am really curious about how they first discover the word play within the word and then make it into something funny. Humor is very powerful in the sense that it can change someone’s mood and usually people with good humor are more socially accepted.
Sincerely,
Faith Tong