無處不在的雙關語

Pun： a funny use of a word or phrase that has different meanings or sounds the same as another word.

By Andy Keedwell

Walk down any British shopping street and you will find shops with strange names. Why is the barbers called ‘Shearlock Combs’？ Why is the opticians[眼鏡店] called ‘Eyediology’？ And who decided to name the butchers ‘Meat you there’ and the fish and chip shop ‘The Plaice to Come’？ What’s going on？

The British love puns—as do many other nationalities. Puns are jokes based on words that sound the same. You’ve probably noticed that many words in English which are spelt in different ways and have different meanings are pronounced in the same way. Think about the name of the restaurant： ‘plaice’ is a kind of fish so our restaurant is ‘the place’ to eat fish. Butchers sell meat—so we’ll ‘meet you there’—and opticians look after our eyes in a scientific way—so eyed—iology （ideology） is a name that fits. Hairdressers shear （cut） your locks （hair） and comb it—say the three words together quickly and you have the name of a famous detective. In shop titles and adverts， puns are used to get our attention.

Puns are very old. The ancient Egyptians and Romans liked to pun. Shakespeare uses many puns in his plays—King Richard the Third （the son of York）—brings ‘glorious summer’—just think about a word that has the same sound as son.

Many people enjoy a good pun （pun/fun for all the family）—others hate them！ Puns aren’t really designed to make you laugh！ Here are some puns that might leave you asking for no more puns please. Have you heard about the bears who voted in the North Poll？ Or the cheetah[印度豹] who couldn’t be trusted at cards？ Or how about the clever little Australian animal that had lots of koalaifications or the camel with no humps[駝峰] that was called Humphrey（and so was free of humps...）

Puns can be funny but they sometimes make important points. Here’s a fashion tip： ‘skinny genes make skinny jeans’： so don’t worry if your jeans don’t fit—it’s your family’s fault！