Samuel Johnson frowning at Shakespeare's puns (courtesy of Wikipedia)
Samuel Johnson called punning the lowest sense of humor. I would take offense but the man is dead, and he wouldn’t care. When he wasn’t speaking ill of puns, Johnson collected words to put in his little dictionary of the English language, frowned through all of Shakespeare’s plays because they are full of puns and then annotated them out of spite, got grouchy and criticized literature (in a scholarly way), and tossed off poems, essays, and biographies before breakfast.
So, yes, we have a lot in common. But, we do not share the same opinion about puns. I think of them as the dark chocolate of humor; good any time of the day, at or between meals, with coffee or wine, with or without nuts, and in all forms.
Well known pharmaceutical company (photo by gabrielsaldana at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabrielsaldana/5704626269/
I know what you’re thinking. No, friend, I am not addicted to chocolate. I use it purely for medicinal purposes. First, chocolate is good for the heart. I have loved chocolate since before I remember, and that’s how long my heart has been beating. If I stop eating chocolate, my heart may stop. I can’t risk that. Second, chocolate is good for the brain. You have only to read this blog to see the effects of lots of dark chocolate on my brain. Impressive, no? (Note: some questions on this blog are for rhetorical purposes only and in no way imply that you need to answer.)
As for the compulsive punning, I have spoken of it once before, and it is a kind of brain disorder called Foerster’s Syndrome that I self-diagnosed years ago. I have been self-diagnosing for years and have experienced multiple medical miracles along with bouts of alliteration in which I have been healed of life-threatening diseases of the nervous system, the digestive system, and for a short time, the bubonic plague, all without any medical intervention whatsoever. My baffled doctors attributed my symptoms to indigestion and the common cold. As if. No doubt there’s a connection between their bafflement and lack of chocolate.
All I’m asking for is a little compassion, friend, if and when I publish a post full of puns, even if it’s tomorrow.
year-struck 
I love puns
I could say more but it’d be pointless. Mere punditry…
I love them, too, and I’ve never understood why Johnson considered them the lowest form of humor.
Most obsessions — and let’s face it, Johnson was definitely on the OCD side of “not liking puns” — stem from insecurity.
Something tells me someone once told him “So, a dyslexic man walked into a bra.”
And Johnson didn’t get it.
He spent a lot of time with words (even compiled a dictionary), so it’s possible he could pun in his sleep and thought it was the lazy man’s way to make a joke.
I wonder what he would think of Gilbert and Sullivan???? On to chocolate — I just read that it helps prevent breast cancer or maybe it was heart disease (obviously doesn’t help the memory) but in any case, we definitely should keep taking our chocolate prescription! (or is that self-prescription!) On a more serious note, I was able to accurately diagnose a condition I had (ok, it was with the help of my chiropractor who is always looked down upon by the medical profession). When I announced my malady, my doctor said, “oh, yes, it could be that!” Go figure.
Dark chocolate provides a myriad of health benefits; I’m surprised more doctors don’t prescribe it.
I think it’s wonderful that you diagnosed yourself. You know your body better than anyone else, so if you have the information available you may well be able to self-diagnose certain diseases or maladies. In the past, I was misdiagnosed and scheduled for a surgery I did not need. Thankfully, it didn’t happen, but since then I’ve always asked for a second opinion.
However, dark chocolate is lethal to dogs for some reason no one will tell me. On the other hand, dogs can enjoy puns safely – while I do not support animal testing, our dogs have been subjected to an insane amount of puns and have suffered no ill effects.
(that have manifested as of this writing…)
Jamie, I never knew that chocolate was poisonous to dogs. I looked online and found this: “Chocolate contains a natural occurring stimulant called theobromine found in the cocoa bean plant Theobroma cocoa, the bean that makes chocolate. Theobromine is the poison as it affects the central nervous system, as well as the heart of the dog, throwing their system into panic which often manifests in the form of epileptic seizures.” It’s from http://www.finedarkchocolate.com/Chocolate_Food/Dogs_Chocolate.asp
It’s a good thing puns don’t have the same effect. The dog population would be decimated otherwise.
I find chocolate a necessity, too. Love Ghirardelli and Lindt, but when we move to Geneva I plan to expeerience a whole new world of chocolate.
How exciting that you will be going to Geneva. You must write about your chocolate encounters.
Annie — I lived in Geneva for 5 years — feel free to contact me at fifty.four.and.a.half@gmail.com You are in for a wonderful adventure!!!! Can I come too?!?!
Sorry yearstricken.
My real comment will be below….
Okay, I’m jealous. I wanna go, too.
Puns and dark chocolate are two of my favorite things. Thanks for the laugh!
They’re essentially the same thing – one in word form, one in food/drink form.
A pun a day keeps the doctor away? Mmmmm chocolate 🙂
Or maybe just makes the doctor avoid you.
My favorite kind of drug store. I also like Drs. Ben and Jerry. The best stimulate they ever invented was Buzz Buzz. OMG. it was to die for, and yet, they retired it. I bet there is a pun in there somewhere but my brain has been on sleep mode all day.
I never tried Buzz Buzz; it sounds intriguing. Chocolate and coffee are my two drugs of choice.
I once diagnosed myself with leprosy. Either I was wrong, or dark chocolate M&M’s cured me.
Puns make the world go ’round!
That made me smile. I’d put my money on the chocolate M&M’s.
I think puns are rather witty! Perhaps good old Johnson wasn’t able to use them and could have been jealous?
That is my theory at least! I look forward to your punny post [That was supposed to be a play on the word funny… but… see now this is the lowest form of humor;)]
They are witty, but it’s hard to stop once you get started. I need to do some research and see if he said anything about what he thought the highest form of humor was.
You always make me laugh – always!
I’m so glad.
Thanks for a good laugh! There’s nothing I can add to this great post and comments. 🙂
Laughter is the best medicine (next to chocolate).
Johnson was a twit, a twat. We remember Shakespeare’s puns. Johnson, not so much.
And for chocolate, give me milky, milky, not dark. Sweet and light. I do not for an instant think that the weight I gained eating Swiss chocolate on a daily basis was a waste. I loved ever single ounce.
Johnson was a brilliant man, so I’m puzzled at his disdain toward puns. Maybe he changed his mind eventually.
I will eat milk chocolate if there is nothing else, but I prefer it almost bitter. I also do not regret eating it; any weight I gained probably came from all those vegetables.
Another fun pun time. I’m headed for my husband’s stash of dark chocolate.
Sharing dark chocolate is the sign of true love.
Ha! I have a very similar photo of that Pharmaceutical Shrine myself–it *may* be an indication of my sharing your views on chocolate (particularly, dark) that I felt compelled to take photos of Ghirardelli Square when in a city loaded with things like the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz and any number of other visual wonders.
I think it’s safe to say that the respectable scientific study on the subject [your experience + my experience = inarguable Truth] does prove that despite all of its miraculous health attributes chocolate is not viable as a cure for punning. But where would be the pun in that?
Johnson probably suffered from hemorrhoids or dental caries or an infestation of weasels (sounds like the title of a Ruth Rendell novel), else he couldn’t possibly have taken such a cantankerous stance on puns.
I must say I love your mathematical formula for inarguable truth, and it definitely proves something. But I’m wondering if punning needs to be cured. Shouldn’t it encouraged and be part of the curriculum?
It’s interesting that you brought up weasels. I once self-diagnosed a case of infestation of weasels (or squirrels) in my hips. The doctor called it cellulite, but I’m still not convinced.
Clearly cellulite is caused by squirrels digging for all those nuts buried in the chocolate… which nature stores on your hips for a lean time… Weasels on the other leg leave those ugly purple tracks as they tunnel after the squirrels, so no doubt you had both! You get the point, Shirley.
I’ve always wondered where cellulite came from. I have the hips; I’m waiting for the lean time.
I too suffer from a terminal case of punning, further aggravated by an uncontrollable desire for alliteration. My post today was a shameful exhibition of this weakness and for that, I apologize to no one. Having pun is what it’s all about.
I, also, find alliteration alluring and addictive. Your post is brilliant; I read it during my lunch break and will soon be over on your site to comment.
I am also a fan of the vile pun. I look forward to the annual Bulwer-Lytton writing contest each year and the puns are right there at the top of my list. One of my favorites?
Eyeing the towering stacks of food colouring that formed the secret to his billion-dollar batik textile empire, grumpy Old Man Griffington was forced to admit that dye mounds are a churl’s best friend.~Janine Beacham
Another pun-pal! Thank you for sharing that great sentence from Janine. Clearly, she’s a word genius.
I love the pun in the post’s title. Sadly I have never been good at punning but I enjoy reading other’s puns. What did Samuel Johnson know? Okay, a lot. From a fellow user of chocolate-for-medicinal-purposes. 😉
I’m glad you enjoy punning. Samuel Johnson was right about a lot of things, but I don’t think he was right about puns. Perhaps he didn’t get enough chocolate in his life.
I think that probably was his main problem–no decent chocolate in those days. Maybe that’s something else you might like to research. We should pity the man. He might have been just one of those poor souls born without a punnybone.
Lack of chocolate causes a variety of ills.
I am afraid I may be infected as well…with both!
Apply chocolate directly to the tongue three times a day. See if that helps.
I clicked on your blog in eager anticipation of reading some puns. I am somewhat punny myself and would have loved to see what you have. So now I anxiously await your pun blog. Oh, I hate dark chocolate but if it makes me a pun guy, then I’m in.
This post was a lead-in to the post that follows, Math has Problems. Please go there for some math puns.
Oh, congrats on being Freshly Pressed – I am pretty sure you are correct, Mr. Johnson must have had a chocolate deficiency. In addition to chocolate I also ensure that I have an adequate supply of vitamin C, supplied via margaritas. To our health….
Thanks, k8edid. Aren’t you a nurse? If you say these things are good for you, it has to be true. Thank you.
Indeed, a nurse…and I speak truth.
Beautifully written and full of bouncing nervous energy – poss way too much choc? 😉
Quite possible.
I’m not capable of saying anything nearly as punny as the comments above. Sorry Mr. Johnson.
Kathy
On my blog, the comments are always the best part. Definitely worth reading.
Great post, my friend! Consider my compassion awaiting your pun-filled post!
Thanks, the Hook. I think by now you found your way to the math post.
Awesome post!
Glad that you liked it.
Low brow humor is the new high brow humor. You’d think a fat guy in a curly wig would understand the true value of a well-placed pun. Chocolate, straight up and unadulterated.
Even brilliant men make errors in judgment. I’ll forgive him if you will.
(chuckle)
Thanks for reading.
Love your post! Great fun.
I’m glad you found it fun.
More chocolate and puns please 😛
I will try.
A pun is nice – once in a while. However, chronic punners are annoying because they are not related to the other person, they are simply scanning either the environment or other people’s words for puns. They are not listening to anyone, actually, they are simply engaged in using the other person as an object to provide a resource for their narcissistic need to continually prove themselves clever. Bore. Kind of like people who have to constantly comment on other people’s comments, always needing to have the last word.
You make some good points. We should be judicial in our use of puns. Perhaps those are some of the reasons Samuel Johnson called puns the lowest form of humor.
Puns are as intrinsic to the english language as gin is to tonic. Great post and completely agree, minus the dark chocolate analogy, which I’ve since replaced with the gin. Still, at least we’re on the same page.
Glad you liked the post. You may have the gin, if I may have the chocolate.
The current (Jan 9 & 16 combined issue) Newsweek cover story about intelligence lists 31 ways to become smarter, one of which is: eat dark chocolate, which I prefer.
As for Samuel Johnson, I chose one of his quotes to appear with my high school senior year yearbook photo: “Every man is, or hopes to be, an idler.”
I like the idea of being able to eat our way to intelligence.
Johnson was clearly a brilliant man and not just because of that quote. It’s a great quote though.
as a second language learner …this new word is awesome!
Glad it helped you.
Lmao!! So clever, so funny.
Thank you for coming over for a read.
Of course chocolate is good for healthful reasons, in my house if I didn’t have my little chocolate stash (expensive and gourmet) I would hurt someone, those closest to me would be at the greatest risk. So there you are, my family is healthy because of my chocolate consumption and my mental state remains stable.
That’s the thing about chocolate; if you get the gourmet kind, you don’t need a lot of it. And yes, it prevents choking (you choking them).
“If I stop eating chocolate, my heart may stop. I can’t risk that”. Really good, fun text!
And, by the way, I do self-diagnostic too!
I hope you are taking your chocolate on a daily basis as well.
A great read on protecting our hearts.
I try to include health tips whenever I can.
Life would be a lot less fun without puns and chocolate.
It would be tragic!
I enjoy a good pun and an even better piece of dark chocolate. Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
I like you already. Thanks for reading.
You’re correct by self diagnosing yourself. And chocolate is wonderful for various problems, including mood swings. I love it but I do try to not go too crazy because of how it packs on the pounds.
Great post.
val
http://valentinedefrancis.wordpress.com
Glad you liked the post. And I agree, chocolate, like puns, should be used in moderation.
Hooray for your fresh pressed post 🙂
Thank you, winsomebella.
I once entered a pun contest, entering 10 puns. I hoped one would win but, alas, no pun in ten did.
Smile.
I must say, I enjoy a good pun as well. To be quite honest, sometimes it takes being clever to have a true good pun. There are quite a few that are worn out, but good none-the less. ^.^
I agree. Fresh puns are the best.
There’s a reason J.K. Rowling made chocolate a powerful antidote to Dementors — it really is a powerful thing. This was a delightful post! I’m so glad I stumbled across you, and I’m looking forward to keeping up with you.
— And on the subject of puns: my best friends and I have always bonded over wordplay. I remember a lot of math classes leavened by one pal’s refrain, “Well, there’s antiderivatives, and there’s uncle derivatives…”
Glad you liked the post. I like your derivative puns. The post that followed this one is about math – a subject that lends itself to puns if you do a lot of borrowing.
I come from a “punny” family and have lots of bright, “punny” friends. Scripture tells us a merry heart does good, like a medicine so I make sure to get my daily dose.
The same goes for dark chocolate. I can’t let a day go by without a bite or two of dark chocolate. I find it so much more satisfying than milk chocolate, and white chocolate isn’t chocolate at all….
I look forward to reading more!
So glad you share the love of puns and chocolate – both are good for the heart. I hope you enjoy what you read.
I totally agree with you that puns are good at any time of the day. My wife thinks otherwise however. She told me that a pun in the morning is like a slap in the face. It’s not my fault that she considers my sense of humor to be pun-ishment. 🙂
From pun rise to pun set?
puns, unlike chocolates, are always better with nuts…
That explains why so many are allergic to pun nuts.
Anything that is good with wine and coffee can’t be all bad. Keep up with the chocolate and th puns.
Tim
My sentiments exactly.
Bravo, and well-said! Love your style. Love words. Love chocolate. TRULY love them together!
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed.
Thank you for reading. Is there anything that doesn’t go with chocolate?
You know, when I was growing up, people used to not like my puns very much either. It used to bother me, but then I realized that the ability to make puns is a sign of intelligence, and that the only people that hate on punny people are those who just are not quick or smart enough to make their own. I hope you write that post of puns, because I will read it and love every second of it. Thanks for the great post!
This post is actually from last week and was a lead into the post that followed, Math has Problems. Thanks for reading.
One of my friend’s punny ways rubbed off on me. We’re The Punishers 😀
I’m going to check your other posts for your puns.
And chocolate…ahhhh…the other Vitamin C!
I like that “chocolate…the other Vitamin C.” I may have to borrow that. 🙂
There is a book about puns called “The Pun Also Rises” that may interest you (if youve not already read it). I pointed it out to the guy who runs my writing group, who is the biggest pun fanatic that I know, and he immediately bought and, as far as I know, has been torturing his finance with it ever since. Come to think of it, he may have Foerster’s Syndrom.
Its nice to know Im not the only modern day victim of bubonic plague. I come down with it at least once a year, spontaneously recovering due to my iron clad immune system.
Are you trying to tempt me? Or drive my two friends away? I will now have to look for that book.
Thank you for reading. It’s nice to meet a fellow survivor.
Puns are fun.
I don’t know where literature or the world would be without puns…
Eeeewwww, sounds devastating.
It would be a sad world indeed if puns were expunged.
Hooray! Congratulations on being freshly pressed! 😀
Thanks, riatarded.
I heart puns, too! Thanks for sticking up for them. 🙂
Glad to know that you appreciate puns, too. Thanks for reading.
Haha! This was HILARIOUS!
Psh, doctors. What do they know?
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Ghirardelli’s as a pharmaceutical company, now that’s rich. Enjoy always, T
Because Ghiradelli is a pharmaceutical company it is rich.
Puns, like chocolate, are a staple of life. Mrs Dim has resigned herself to the fact that, since she shares her house with a panto-writer, she’s gotta put up with the puns. I once tried ten puns in a row to see if any would make her laugh, but no pun in ten did….
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
No need to apologize. Punners are welcome here. Thanks for reading.
I love being punny!
Me, too.
You would love our friend Bill. He never met a pun he didn’t like! We were just at his house and he showed us a book he had picked up in a used book store, I think it was an encyclopedia of puns!
I have a nice list that I’ve been tempted to post, but I try to be judicial. It sounds like Bill is my kind of guy.
nice
Thanks.
NICE!
Thank you for reading.
I like all forms of low humour except The Nutty Professor. But..where are the puns? Or, did I miss them all?
The post that Freshly Pressed picked was a lead to the post on the following day. It’s called Math has Problems. I think a lot of people wondered the same thing.
Great post! Congratulations on being fresly pressed!
Thank you so much.
I think an appreciation of puns is what separates good people and bad people. Case in point: Groucho Marx…tons of puns…great individual. Kim Jong Il? Never once heard him use a pun…he was evil. I think that illustrates my point well.
Congrats on being Freshly Pressed! Yay puns!
You illustrated the point wonderfully. I would rather be a Marxist than a Kimist.
Your pun-filled post was puntastic. Sad to hear SJ didn’t like puns .
Glad you liked it. I hope that later in life Johnson learned to appreciate them more.
Congratulations on making it to Freshly Pressed…..we look forward to more posts on puns…!
Thanks. Go to the next post, Math has Problems, for more puns.
Clever headline. Nice job!
I’m glad you liked it.
Ha. Having grown up with a compulsive punner, I am well acquainted with groaners.
I bet it has made you strong.
Positively punderful, I cannot wait for your hardcore punographic explorations into the world of absurdly punny puns.
I try to go lightly on them, but there are more in the post that follows. I must visit your blog and see what you are up to over there. 🙂
Now that I think about it, I must have married the King of Pun! He makes my head spin with every word out of his mouth, its as though I can never tell what he really means. Ick.
….and on chocolate, I now wonder WHY I have never been one to like it.
I do not crave it, NEVER reach for it, and gobble wasted calories of anything else instead. Toffee jumped up and crushed it like a little bug.
HMMMmmmm. I consider this a blessing, yes, I do!
Don’t like chocolate, don’t like the way Hubby converses, what is wrong with me?!?!??!?!?
LOL
Look at it this way: by not eating chocolate, you leave more for the those who love it. And by marrying the King of Pun, you saved some other woman from having to endure that. 🙂 You are a kind, kind woman.
chocolates..? i am not addicted!
puns? i am not allergic!; but i like this post and enjoyed your replies to the comments.
TechSmartLife
I’m glad you liked the post and enjoy the comments. Some wonderful people visit this blog and I’ve made some great online friends.
Oh those clever pundits with re-spun puns.
Funny post! 🙂
I sense that you like puns. 🙂
Puns are fun! haha
Yes, indeed.
You know not all people can use puns, its kind of diffi-cult 🙂
Perhaps there is something cultish about punners.
I love it! Puns are the best, as is chocolate. Excellent post. 🙂
Glad you came by to read.
Love it! I look forward to hearing more! Stay in touch.
http://aphotoaday2012.com
Thanks for the link to your blog. I will be stopping by.
You had me at chocolate *sigh*
I know what you mean. I go to those blogs with pictures of chocolate and have to restrain myself from licking the screen.
LOL ! Puns are an intelligent humor. Most people don’t understand them.
As a locksmith, perhaps you can provide the key to understanding them.
I just self treated with about 100 grams of the stuff. Symptoms are already beginning to clear up.
You are a smart woman, Sara.
I have a very, very technical question.
Is it a) good, b) necessary or c) evil to write “(pun intended)” in brackets after a pun. As in this:
“The darned clothes (pun intended) are strangling me.”
I think I know what SJ would say.. but no, I want your opinion.
thanks for your help and the good laugh and all. Congrats on being Freshly Pressed 😉
i don’t think the above sentence is a good example of a pun.. just ignore it
I like your sentence and the play on the word “darned.” If I made a pun, I would leave it up to the reader to figure it out, but if I was not trying to be funny, I might use (no pun intended) to let the reader know I was serious. What is your take?
Love posts like this which make you laugh and also highlight the important things in life. Dark chocolate indeed.
So glad you liked the post. Thanks for reading.
Not glad he (Samuel) is dead but glad you are not, great entertaining mind! On that note, I say thank you for the fun read.
Sign me,
Just another nut who fell too far from the tree in some uninformed opinion or other lol
I wish I had half the brains that Johnson had but we have to work with what we’ve got. I glad you liked the post.
pun – noun
the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words.
lol – Almost every sentence out of mouth is as per the above.
Cheers,
-Ron
How To Be A DJ
http://www.beadj.ca
We probably make more puns that we are aware of just because words have so many different meanings and associations. Thanks for the link. I will visit when I can.
Loved the post. Our sense of humor may not be far apart but it does have its differences. As does everyones! Keep this up it’s well enjoyable to read.
There’s no explaining why one person finds something funny and another doesn’t. Thanks for reading.
Check out my PhD dissertation, on puns: “Homophony and Paronomasia in America: On the Validity of Puns. Dissertation Abstacts 1989.
Puns use words that sound or look similar, but that seem superficially to be unrelated in meaning. However? My dissertation holds that in fact, most “different” words that look or sound similar, are actually … related in unexpected ways. In their deeper, root meaning.
It’s time to take puns seriously!
I agree, and I would love to read your dissertation. Sounds fascinating.
I remember a woman I knew who was merciless with puns. I nailed her once with a rapid-fire slinging of four bread-related ones in a row, but she was deaf, so she could always fire off a few then turn off her hearing aids so you couldn’t retaliate. Not fair!
Not fair but funny.
until this blog, i was ashamed of my need for medicinal chocolate and pun use. i thought i was alone. now i can be free of my guilt and embrace them both!
http://www.icouldntmakethisshitup.wordpress.com
Come out into the o-pun. You are welcome here.
Chuckle-late…Some ill Johnson missed it! Some don’t or Sam dead nut?
Thanks for the pfun! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it. I like your chucklelate.
BRING ON THE PUNS!!!! I love them, the worse they are the better if I might say so. Best card I ever gave my husband was a Star Wars one that said “Yoda one for me” – terrible, I know but that’s what I love! Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed.:)
You are definitely a hardcore punner!
Love this post and will check others on your blog. You may want to light upon my blog, http://potomacgrasshopper.wordpress.com/, where recently I’ve given in to my own love of puns.
Thanks for visiting, and thank you for the link. I will be visiting your blog in the future.
My daddy loves puns too. My mommy probably thinks of it as punishment. Maybe that’s why she punches him. No, she doesn’t do that. But I do agree that puns are great and full of fun if you can bear it.
~Flurry the Bear
Sounds like your parents are polar opposites; perhaps that explains your avatar.
Hehehe Very clever! 😉
True fluency in any language is reflected in the ability to pun in that language.
C’est tout.
two.
I would say, “Oui, oui,” but I have a sensitive bladder.
At the end of this very amusing post, I am desperately craving dark chocolate. Thank you!
And congratulations on being freshly pressed 🙂
http://indiraadams.wordpress.com
Yeah, sometimes just talking about chocolate makes you want to eat some. Thank you for the link; I will be over to visit sometime.
CHOCOLATE! Enough said 🙂
I need one more word: DARK.
Puns and chocolate – who could ask for more? I read an excellent article a number of years ago that said eating chocolate while pregnant makes for happier babies. Although I am past the pregnancy part, I think it still stands that eating chocolate makes for happier people. Thanks for your post!
I completely agree with you. Glad you liked the post.
lol.. great post. And I would like a post of puns… I do enjoy a bit of lowbrow humour. Pretty sure Bette Midler is my biological mother…
I’m intrigued. Do you sing, act, do standup comedy, or all of the above?
Ah! Extra points for using the word ‘pun’ in a pun! Well done!
I need all the extra points I can get. Thanks.
Personally, I go for chocolate pretzel M&Ms. But I must confess….occasionally I go over to the dark side and enjoy the delights of Toblerone, Lindt and Hershey. As for puns, you rank up there with my hero, Ogden Nash! 😉
You are very kind. For me, the darker the better.
Pun fun!
We have to get our fun where we can, right?
Great post! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for reading. I’m glad you liked it.
Hee hee. Personally I have an unhealthy, closeted relationship with puns. In November I created a webcomic character called Pun Pal. Unfortunately he won’t show up for several weeks yet, but here’s the link anyway: http://crepusculars.thecomicseries.com/
I look forward to your Pun Pal and will definitely check it out. Thanks for the link.
Yay! You were Freshly pressed – and you deserve it! I logged into WordPress here at work today and was so happy to see your name right there! xxoo
Thank you. No one could be more surprised than me.
Very nice blog and good post, I hope to be more to come!
I hope so as well.
Freshly pressed, indeed. And well deserved, great post! Off to eat some chocolate and ponder how to bring coco into my next conversation.
I’m also off and I eat chocolate, so we have a lot in common.
nice blog!
Thank you for reading, Ben.
Love your blog – nothing better than puns and chocolate and as I have discovered by experimentation – neither of them are in the slightest bit fattening!
You must share your method of experimentation. Chocolate makes me fluffy.
Loved your post. I too am a bit of a punster. Year ago, I wrote a musical for children. It was called: Doctor Euphonious and the Dulcet Tones Present: You Can Tune a Piano But you Can’t Tuna Fish: An Opera for Big and Small Fry.
Very clever. I bet it was a success. Most children enjoy wordplay.
The kids – and adults – loved it. The whole show was dripping in musical puns and riddles. On an icy sidewalk, you’d better C# (C sharp)or else you’ll Bb (B Flat). etc etc. Many terrific writers love puns – see my reply to Jeff below. Again thanks for a lively post.
I have just now seen the remark made to you, Pauline. I’m sorry about that. Different kinds of humor appeal to different kinds of people, and puns are not for everyone.
Gee, Jeff. You look like someone who could be a terrific laugher. Wonder what makes you laugh? Obviously not puns. How about riddles? Of course, many of them are puns. “What do sea monsters eat? Fish and ships!” That one’s from Salman Rushdie.
I think if I had the money I would pay my state’s main newspaper’s editor to do one edition, just one whole edition, without a single pun in article titles. Just once!
It sounds pretty bad if you’re willing to pay money to make it stop.
I love puns. Puns are great. Puns are wonderful. I put a lot of thought into punning. I’m actually a writer- and I’ve gone so far as titling some of my books with puns too. The publishers either didn’t notice – or went along with the joke. Good stuff!
Matthew Wright
http://mjwrightnz.wordpress.com
http://www.matthewwright.net
Thank you for stopping by to read. And thank you for the links. I will try to stop by sometime soon.
When you look up ‘grumble’ in the dictionary you’ll see a picture of a picture of Samuel Johnson. Or you would if he hasn’t been the one to compile it.
Some days they could use my picture as an example of that.
I would agree that people who pun have some kind of brain disorder.
It follows that we must be kind to them.
Lovely, lovely Yearstricken! Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed! You are worth this honor and so much more.
And in honor of this expected and momentous occasion, I give you this quote, from “30 Rock,” as rendered by character Tracy Jordan:
“I’m not going to say ‘I told you so,” so… Welcome to Miami!”
🙂
Thank you, Courtenay. You led the way and yours was such a lovely post full of wit and wordsmithery, fit for a literary journal. Mine would give the literary journal fits.
Puns and chocolate in one post … life is good. ♥
It was my good deed of the day. 🙂
“no doubt there’s a connection between their bafflement and lack of chocolate..” i died laughing. great post!
Thanks for stopping by to read, LadyT.
“Of puns it has been said that those who most dislike them are those who are least able to utter them.” Edgar Allan Poe
Our bovine friends are master punsters, of course, as they are able to udder them most of all.
I love the quote and your clever comment on it. Do you think it’s because they have a stake in them?
You’re fantastic! No pun intended.
I said no pun intended.
Thanks for stopping by to read.
Puns are a fabulous form of fun and wit, and much underrated. You pun away, mate.
I agree. They’re free, fun, and non-fattening.
That Johnson fellow was incorrect. I can think of many forms of humor that fall short of puns (toilet humor anyone?). In fact, I always thought puns were of the higher order. Anyway, thanks for the fun facts and tidbits.
We certainly agree about puns. Thanks for reading.
My favourite type of pun is always attached to a shop of some kind. I think the best are hairdressers and fast food establishments.
Best hair dressers: Hairway to heaven
Best fast food: Abra kebabra
A day without puns and sarcasm? Blog off!
I like those kinds of store names, too. Puns do brighten the day.
Though mad Almanzor rhymed in Dryden’s days,
No sing-song Hero rants in modern plays;
Whilst modest Comedy her verse foregoes
For jest and pun in very middling prose.
-Byron
It’s almost as if Byron is describing my blog: jests, puns, and middling prose. I almost feel flattered.
I’ll sign the petition to upgrade the pun form the lowest form of humor.
What a brilliant idea!
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Thanks for reading. I will try to visit your post in the new few days. Thanks for the link.
great post and interesting comments!
The comments are full of wit; you are smart to read them.
I’m sitting here and all I can think of is making a pun about chocolate, I hope I’m not choco-late to the party though.
You can never be too choco-late.
What’s it called when someone steals your coffee cup? (A mugging)
Thank you, very clever. I like it.
Any form of humor is a great form of expression! 🙂 Not a chocolate fan, but dark is the only one I like… self-diagnosing is good for the brain, too – keeps it active. 🙂
Humor is good medicine.
dark chocolate and puns, great way to spend a day!
I completely agree.
Yearstruck, you have somehow managed to incorporate three very different topics–dark chocolate, self-diagnosis and puns–into one post. And…the post even made sense.
Wow. I bow to you. Brilliant!
BTW, dark chocolate and puns are two of my favorite things, too. Pun on!
Thank you so much for reading.
I love puns and the good doctor Johnson. My heart is a conflicted place.
I feel the same way. He had a good sense of humor but failed to appreciate puns much.
oops! Correction: this blog had everything*
haha! Loved it… especially the part about the medical miracles! 🙂
Chocolate and miracles often go together, I think.
I always have chocolate chips for baking and yet I never bake cookies. 🙂
Good news for me. I don’t think I could live without chocolate! And as far as the puns go. They can be clever or corny … It’s a fine line 🙂
It’s a very fine line, but I like them all (in moderation, of course).
Reblogged this on Hey ROU! Let's Go!.
Thank you.
I would have to say that it takes great intellect to make puns, tons of talent to give one subconsciously. As for your syndrome, just take it for granted. hahha. nice post.
We punners like to believe it is so, but the people around us don’t always agree. 🙂
The way you write reminds me of George Carlin (brilliant man, by the way.) You have the gift of quick-sentence comedy. Keep it up!
Thanks for stopping by to read. And thank you for the encouragement.
Puntastic! What else could you want puns and chocolate 😉
Glad it was to your taste.
Reblogged this on axellegupta and commented:
once a pun a time