Lesson #2, Idioms and Clichés

Sometimes the best things in life are those simple pleasures. It came upon me today, as I thought about a few of my favorite puns of all time, that there was a striking semblance between them.

Let's see if you can figure out the thing that all these puns share. (you most likely have heard me tell them already; for that reason I've included a written laugh track)


A) "I was wondering why the baseball was getting bigger, and then it hit me."

......ha..ha..ha..hahahahahahahaha



B) "Did you hear about the guy who lost his entire left side in an accident? He's all right now"

...ho....ho...ho....hohohoho...hoho..ho..heehee



C) "Did you hear about the butcher who backed up into his meat grinder? He got a little behind in his work"

......hehe hohoho haha yodelayeeehoo..


Alright, did you figure it out? (hint: check the title of the post). As it turns out, in each of these cases, the punchline (phrase of interest) uses a common expression: "then it hit me," "all right," and "got a little behind." The power of these phrases is that people understand the first meaning naturally, so the double meaning can be a little more "out there," and people will still get it.

Making these puns are very straightforward.

1) Start with a phrase that's commonly used, or an idiom. An example might be "to touch one's heart" which means to emotionally move another.

2) Think of another meaning for the phrase. We'll use the literal meaning of touching one's heart.  Not a very creative example, but it'll do the trick.

3) Lastly, weave a phrase that plays to both meanings.
"My surgeon's breathtaking performance really touched my heart...and my lungs."

That's it! Not too hard, and remember: the more you make, the more likely you'll stumble on a gem!


Thanks for reading!

Louis Cai




~Random Thought~

 Today I realized the idiom "bark up the wrong tree" actually had a hidden pun in it!