I, for one, would find life unimaginably dull sans puns. To me, they are the spice that adds a punch to writing and conversation, bringing a begrudging grin to the face of the dourest hypochondriac. Indeed, I don’t think there could be a better icebreaker than a good pun. Puns are essentially an imaginative play upon words that strike a chord with the discerning reader or listener. In fact, the pun is just another (perhaps more entertaining) form of humour that peps up our lives much like a spoonerism does. These ever popular rib-ticklers are to be found everywhere as evidenced by this miscellany:
“When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble”; “I dropped out of communism class because of lousy Marx”; “They told me I had type-A blood but it was a typo”; “I got a job at a bakery because I kneaded dough.” “What did the parish priest tell his assistant when he found the church garden overrun with weeds?” I once asked a colleague. Then seeing his perplexed look, I clarified, “Come, let us spray!” Another time as I pored over the comic strips of this newspaper, I cryptically remarked to a companion, “I’m afraid I’ve got a Beetle in my bonnet!” The blank look he gave me prompted me to hasten to explain, “You see, I’m a big fan of Beetle Bailey!” In the good old days there was a British planter in Munnar who was known to be a keen shikari and also a bit of a womaniser.
This perhaps explains why he was sometimes snidely referred to as a “bigdame hunter.” And incidentally, what was the hunter’s wife’s lament? “Venison for dinner again? Oh, deer!” Watching several young women participate in an aquatics championship, a witty punster commented, “A swimming beauty is certainly worth wading for!” On another occasion, he came up with a deft definition of the sea, “It’s where buoy meets gull!” And he once characterised crying over spilt milk as an “udder waste”.
When his dog gave birth to an unexpectedly large litter overnight, a neighbour joked, “I’ve had a ‘pup-ulation’ explosion.” And in school. I recall our jovial history teacher quipping, “Maybe we should spend time learning ‘her story’ too!” Perhaps some day on the occasion of a couple’s fiftieth wedding anniversary, an exuberant MC will greet them with this spirited message, “So-and-so haven’t just been wedded for life —they’ve been welded for life!” And he would probably justify taking this liberty by blithely adding, “Sorry, folks, I said so only for the ‘pun’ of it!”