A transpositional pun is a pun format with two aspects. It involves transposing the words in a well-known phrase or saying to get a daffynition-like clever redefinition of a well-known word unrelated to the original phrase. The redefinition is thus the first aspect, and the transposition the second aspect. As a result, transpositional puns are considered among the most difficult to create, and commonly the most challenging to comprehend, particularly for non-native speakers of the language in which they're given (most commonly English).[1]

Examples

Pun Original reference
Dieting: A waist is a terrible thing to mind. "A mind is a terrible thing to waste", the motto of the United Negro College Fund.
Hangovers: The wrath of grapes. The Grapes of Wrath
Olympic officials: The souls that time men's tries. "These are the times that try men's souls.", Thomas Paine
The oboe: An ill wind that nobody blows any good. "'Tis an ill wind that blows nobody any good."
Feudalism: It's your count that votes! "It's your vote that counts!"
Soldiers of fortune: Give chance a piece. "Give peace a chance."

See also

References

  1. Pollack, John (2012). The Pun Also Rises. Gotham Books. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1-59240-675-3.
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