Reader question:
What does "pun intended" mean?
My comments:
A pun, if you look up a dictionary, is a play on words, and usually for humorous effects. Example: "Seven days without water makes one weak (week)" (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English).
You see, puns are a word or phrase that has two meanings or of words with the same sound but different meanings. Some puns are made deliberately. Example: "God, you've got a good Job. Don't blow it" (Woody Allen).
Sometimes, a pun is sprung inadvertently. When discussing the phenomenon of nepotism in State-owned businesses, for example, I once remarked casually this is due to the fact that "some leaders are only interested in fattening up themselves". There was no pun intended there because we were not talking about anybody's protruding belly, double jaw or immovable backside. But then I realized that this is literarily true too, hence adding: "If you check the waistline of your bosses you'll know what I mean, how much fat they've put on since they assumed their leadership positions and began to really throw their weight around." Everybody leaned back (everybody who was lean enough to do so, that is) and laughed in agreement.
Authors sometimes point out whether it is "pun intended" or "no pun intended" in case readers might miss the point. Here's a newspaper example:
After September 11 and the war against terror, the hidden hand and fist have had their cover blown - and we have a clear view now of America's other weapon - the free market - bearing down on the developing world, with a clenched, unsmiling smile. The Task That Never Ends is America's perfect war, the perfect vehicle for the endless expansion of American imperialism. In Urdu, the word for profit is fayda. Al-qaida means the word, the word of God, the law. So, in India, some of us call the War Against Terror, Al-qaida vs Al-fayda - The Word vs The Profit (no pun intended).
- Not Again, The Guardian, Friday, September 27, 2002.
The Profit, you see, sounds the same as The Prophet.
英语讲义【85】被动句中的动词形态
英语讲义【129】不完整的结构
英语讲义【92】含on的三字一体片语动词
英语讲义【157】怎样突出句子中的重点?
英语讲义【114】三合一名词组及形容词组
英语讲义【126】由标点符号引起的错句
英语讲义【116】名词句型的优点
英语讲义【88】由get引导的片语动词
英语讲义【120】与五官相关的惯用语
英语讲义【131】由“形容词或分词+名词”组成的名词惯用语
英语讲义【86】形容词句型
英语讲义【123】只有其意,不见其形
英语讲义【164】怎样使句子流畅易解
英语讲义【107】寻常时态的不寻常用法
英语讲义【137】词语的搭配
英语讲义【127】名词惯用语
英语讲义【105】中文式的英文句子
英语讲义【108】由take引导的动词短语
英语讲义【94】句子结构不当
英语讲义【101】由get引导的动词短语
英语讲义【174】与"生""死"有关的惯用语
英语讲义【144】效益良好的句法
英语讲义【119】动词修饰语
英语讲义【102】不以进行式时态出现的动词
英语讲义【125】语义相近的句型
英语讲义【118】Be+不定式动词
英语讲义【90】副词分句的节缩
英语讲义【99】动词时态要一致
英语讲义【91】混淆的动词形态
英语讲义【109】及物动词不需要介词
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