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Words or phrases with multiple meanings are used ambiguously with a humorous or sexual (or both) result. For example, Mae West's "Marriage is a fine institution, but I'm not ready for an institution." and the
Groucho Marx line "If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against
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Altering a word's regular part of speech. This can occur naturally with the evolution of a language, but can also be done for emphasis or comedic effect. For example, saying "The thunder would not peace at my bidding." using the noun
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series is known for its mini-game titles that usually are puns and various plays on words; for example: "Shock, Drop, and Roll", "Gimme a Brake", and "Right Oar Left". These mini-game titles are also different depending on
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Joyce's phrase "they were yung and easily freudened" clearly implies the more conventional "they were young and easily frightened"; however, the former also makes an apt pun on the names of two famous
303:
This business's sign is written in both
English and Hebrew. The large character is used to make the âNâ in Emanuel and the âŚâ in ŚąŚŚ ŚŚŚ. This is an example of orthographic word play.
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A farmer says, "I got soaked for nothing, stood out there in the rain bang in the middle of my land, a complete waste of time. I'll like to kill the swine who said you can win the
229:
Replacing a word with a different word that sounds similar, either unintentionally or for comedic effect. For example, saying "He is the very pineapple of politeness." instead of
221:
An accidental and often humorous transposition of initial letters or sounds, such as "a flock of bats" instead of "a block of flats" or "a bunny phone" instead of "a funny bone".
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Most writers engage in word play to some extent, but certain writers are particularly committed to, or adept at, word play as a major feature of their work .
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Many businesses use word play to their advantage by making their business names more memorable. This business is located near the
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as a "comic genius recognized in his lifetime as a classic and an old master of farce" for his own acclaimed wordplay.
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203:. Example: "We'll have to rehearse that," said the undertaker as the coffin fell out of the car.
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A form of humorous writing where adverbs are chosen to reflect the nature of the situation in a
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A categorized taxonomy of word play composed of record-holding words
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Form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work
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Artist Tavar
Zawacki painted a site-specific wordplay painting in
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Word play can cause problems for translators: e.g., in the book
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as a verb, or "The little old lady turtled across the street."
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as a method of reinforcing meaning. Examples of text-based (
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An example of modern word play can be found on line 103 of
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way. "Hurry up and get to the back of the ship," Tom said
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a character mistakes the word "issue" for the noise of a
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613:. Created by John Guedel. John Guedel Productions, 1950.
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Your man's caught the chill and it ain't even winter yet
311:'s "quibbles" have made him a noted punster. Similarly,
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especially are based on elaborate systems of wordplay.
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and take into account that specific region's culture.
331:, is another noted word-player. For example, in his
97:, and telling character names (such as in the play
262:Combining two words to create a new word, such as
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398:H2O plus my D, that's my hood, I'm living in it
30:"Wordplay" redirects here. For other uses, see
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547:. Oxford Dictionaries Online. Archived from
383:often employ wordplay to challenge solvers.
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414:Keep any heat by the fine China dinner set
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425:for being out standing in your field!".
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599:The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said
111:that sounds exactly like the adjective
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406:uses a play on words in his verse on "
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89:, obscure words and meanings, clever
447:Word play can enter common usage as
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93:excursions, oddly formed sentences,
373:But 'Wood' would not rhyme with gun
128:homophonic puns in Mandarin Chinese
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394:'s "III. Life: The Biggest Troll".
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370:His name was not 'Bun' but 'Wood'
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454:Word play is closely related to
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81:. Examples of word play include
364:Here lie the bones of one 'Bun'
100:The Importance of Being Earnest
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505:List of taxa named by anagrams
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118:Word play is quite common in
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289:United Nations Headquarters
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85:, phonetic mix-ups such as
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570:Sheriden, Richard (1998).
500:List of forms of word play
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367:He was killed with a gun.
32:Wordplay (disambiguation)
545:"definition of wordplay"
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515:Phono-semantic matching
584:Shakespeare, William.
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291:and plays on the term
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52:crisis and exportation
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1155:Shakespearean comedy
953:Ancient Greek comedy
437:regional differences
47:, commenting on the
601:. Touchstone, 2003.
213:from "disheveled").
1143:Comédie larmoyante
1138:Sentimental comedy
1133:Restoration comedy
1096:Commedia dell'arte
968:Corral de comedias
385:Cryptic crosswords
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153:. You can help by
71:literary technique
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1071:Boulevard theatre
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958:Comédie-Française
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611:You Bet Your Life
551:on 11 August 2011
443:Related phenomena
381:Crossword puzzles
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16:(Redirected from
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120:oral cultures
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67:play-on-words
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1367:Black sitcom
1347:Mockumentary
1255:Opéra bouffe
1223:Café-théùtre
1208:Ballad opera
1126:Harlequinade
1076:Comedy-drama
855:Mockumentary
783:
739:Impersonator
719:Comic timing
629:, retrieved
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553:. Retrieved
549:the original
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162:January 2010
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155:adding to it
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124:orthographic
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1435:Documentary
1431:(dry humor)
1394:Alternative
1372:Teen sitcom
1265:Opera buffa
1240:Light music
1235:Comedy club
1185:Tragicomedy
1150:Shadow play
431:Mario Party
423:Nobel Prize
323:James Joyce
309:Shakespeare
258:Portmanteau
225:Malapropism
201:set phrases
87:spoonerisms
1570:Word games
1554:Categories
1342:Television
1245:Music hall
1190:Vaudeville
1111:Macchietta
1101:Double act
1010:Indonesia
1004:Mo lei tau
1000:Hong Kong
994:Xiangsheng
865:Remarriage
774:Visual gag
764:Punch line
759:Prank call
631:3 December
572:The Rivals
531:References
456:word games
449:neologisms
236:Anthimeria
217:Spoonerism
191:Wellerisms
134:Techniques
109:given name
91:rhetorical
45:Lima, Peru
1560:Word play
1489:Slapstick
1414:Christian
1409:Character
1386:Subgenres
1201:and dance
1121:Pantomime
907:Slapstick
880:Screwball
784:Word play
586:King Lear
485:Etymology
318:The Times
79:amusement
59:Word play
1575:Rhetoric
1529:Category
1464:Physical
1275:Operetta
1049:Sarugaku
917:Thriller
809:American
729:Humorist
699:Comedian
574:. Dover.
555:6 August
510:Metaphor
479:See also
408:True Nen
279:Examples
270:to make
231:pinnacle
107:being a
63:wordplay
18:Wordplay
1501:Surreal
1429:Deadpan
1315:Hip hop
1213:Cabaret
939:Country
931:Theatre
895:Mexican
890:Italian
870:Romance
845:Fantasy
824:Italian
814:British
802:Country
402:Rapper
354:epitaph
328:Ulysses
185:sternly
181:punning
113:earnest
69:) is a
65:(also:
49:cocaine
1539:Portal
1511:Zombie
1494:Topics
1454:Insult
1449:Horror
1424:Cringe
1357:Sitcom
1320:Parody
1044:Rakugo
1039:Owarai
1034:Manzai
1029:KyĆgen
1025:Japan
1019:Ludruk
1014:Lenong
946:Europe
912:Stoner
902:Silent
860:Parody
850:Horror
840:Action
819:French
769:Satire
734:Humour
692:Topics
685:Comedy
520:Simile
473:sneeze
195:Using
105:Ernest
1565:Words
1479:Shock
1419:Clown
1399:Black
1352:Roast
1337:Radio
1332:Novel
1305:Album
1300:Music
1293:Media
1280:Revue
1199:Music
1064:Genre
989:China
833:Genre
749:Irony
724:Farce
358:grave
347:Freud
264:smoke
243:peace
1484:Sick
1469:Prop
1440:High
1404:Blue
1310:Rock
1165:Spex
982:Asia
794:Film
754:Joke
633:2021
557:2013
428:The
404:Milo
345:and
343:Jung
272:smog
266:and
254:me?"
199:and
83:puns
1444:low
885:Sex
779:Wit
525:Pun
352:An
268:fog
157:.
115:).
75:wit
61:or
1556::
1442:/
451:.
410:"
349:.
341:,
130:.
103:,
677:e
670:t
663:v
559:.
295:.
274:.
187:.
164:)
160:(
54:.
34:.
20:)
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