Let's look at this random pun of the day from www.punoftheday.com
"Ducks don't have their palms read, they look for it on the web"
There are many types of puns, but they all root themselves in the principle of association. Association is how we think, how we remember things. Has something ever "jogged your memory?" When you're having a conversation with someone, you link one topic idea to another through associations. Have you ever said the phrase, "that reminds me of that time..." On a smaller scale that's how puns work, and all humor essentially.
Lets examine these average puns. The core of the mediocre puns you see on the internet have to deal with double meaning words. In the duck pun, the word of interest (WOI) is "web." You have to have a WOI before you make a pun; nearly any word can be used to make a pun; you will come to realize that soon enough.
This particular pun is an example of a classic pun, one that employs multiple meanings of one word. I'll teach how to make one.
1) Once you have a WOI, think of it's different definitions and synonyms. For the word"web" - the internet, a spider's web, the web between fingers, the web in mathematics, a net, a complicated network.
2) Start with one meaning that you think is the easiest to work with. In this case we'll choose "the webbed fingers" definition. What do you think of when you hear the word webbed fingers? Ducks, frogs, the web between our own fingers come to mind. Choose from the first few things that come to mind; they are likely to be the more stronger associations. The stronger the association, the more likely someone will "get" your pun.
3) Once you get the first association, try to imagine it interacting with any the other meanings. For this example, the duck is surfing the internet, but the duck could also be stuck in a spider web, the duck could be tracking a serial killer across the country (if you've ever watched Heroes). Choose the easiest one to imagine because it will require the least set up and not much explanation.
4) So we've got a duck surfing the internet now. You're halfway there. Here comes the more intricate part, you've got to find a way to associate the two meanings. Why might a duck surf the internet? How does the internet relate to the webbing of a duck's hand? What can you learn from someone's hand that you can also learn from the internet? That's when you need a little creativity. Multiple reasons can be drawn: You can check your fortune (palm reader vs internet). You might need to get your hand fixed (hand doctor vs. internet advice). It might want to check if someone's married (married ring vs. facebook relationship status)
5) Now you weave an eloquent set up that plays to both meanings. The entire joke in this case was
"Ducks don't have their palms read, they look for it on the web"
but you could have also done "Ducks don't to go to hand doctors, they ask doctors of the web"
You could also make a one lined joke: How does one duck know if the other is married? They look on the web.
The important thing to remember is to keep as concise as possible, phrasing it as eloquently as possible. This part takes the longest, but your choice of words determines how well received your pun will be! You probably think this pun was lame, and it definitely is. The majority of the puns you make will be made through this process, and most will be lame. However for pun making, quantity is better than quality! Once in a while you'll stumble on an extremely witty one and you'll find the whole process rewording. Practice recognizing these kinds of puns and seeing how they're set up. Soon you'll get better at it!
Thanks for reading!
Louis
~Random Pun~
What do you call a man singing with another man's wife in the shower? A Soap Opera.
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