Flashcard 9 - ELAR: Reading Flashcard Set for the TSIA2

pun

“Have you ever tried to eat a clock? It’s very time-consuming.” This is an example of a pun. Here, the phrase “time-consuming” has a double meaning. One way to read the sentence is that eating a clock would take a long time (and therefore is time-consuming). Another interpretation is that the clock is being eaten, or consumed. In order for a pun to work effectively, an author must know his or her audience. If he or she uses a play on words that the audience doesn’t know or isn’t familiar with, the joke won’t work and the pun won’t be effective.