Pun vs Joke - What's the difference?
pun | joke |
To beat; strike with force; ram; pound, as in a mortar; reduce to powder.
* Shakespeare
A joke or type of wordplay in which similar senses or sounds of two words or phrases, or different senses of the same word, are deliberately confused.
* {{quote-book
, title=(Mansfield Park)
, last=Austen
, first=Jane
, authorlink=Jane Austen
, year=1814
*:Comment : Austen was likely referring to spanking/flogging, then common naval punishments, known as (le vice Anglais) .
To make or tell a pun; make a play on words.
An amusing story.
* Gay
Something said or done for amusement, not in seriousness.
* Alexander Pope
(figuratively) The root cause or main issue, especially an unexpected one
(figuratively) A worthless thing or person.
To do or say something for amusement rather than seriously.
(dated) To make merry with; to make jokes upon; to rally.
Joke is a coordinate term of pun.
As verbs the difference between pun and joke
is that pun is to beat; strike with force; ram; pound, as in a mortar; reduce to powder while joke is to do or say something for amusement rather than seriously.As nouns the difference between pun and joke
is that pun is a joke or type of wordplay in which similar senses or sounds of two words or phrases, or different senses of the same word, are deliberately confused while joke is an amusing story.pun
English
(wikipedia pun)Etymology 1
From (etyl) . More at (l).Verb
- He would pun thee into shivers with his fist.
Etymology 2
From a special use of Etymology 1 .Noun
(en noun)citation, volume=one, chapter VI , publisher= }}
- "Certainly, my home at my uncle's brought me acquainted with a circle of admirals. Of Rears'' and ''Vices I saw enough. Now do not be suspecting me of a pun , I entreat."
Usage notes
* Because some puns are based on pronunciation, puns are more obvious when spoken aloud. For example: “This rock is gneiss, but don’t take it for granite.” This reads (with a US accent) similarly to “This rock is nice, but don’t take it for granted.” (Both “gneiss” and “granite” are types of rock.)Synonyms
* See alsoVerb
- We punned about the topic until all around us groaned.
See also
* antanaclasis * paronomasiaAnagrams
* ----joke
English
Noun
(en noun)- Or witty joke our airy senses moves / To pleasant laughter.
- It was a joke !
- Enclose whole downs in walls, 'tis all a joke .
- Your effort at cleaning your room is a joke .
- The president was a joke .
Usage notes
* Adjectives often applied to "joke": old, bad, inside, poor, silly, funny, lame, hilarious, stupid, offensive.Synonyms
* See alsoDerived terms
* bad joke * standing joke * knock-knock joke * light bulb joke * practical jokeCoordinate terms
* comedy * limerick * parody * punVerb
(jok)- I didn’t mean what I said — I was only joking .
- to joke a comrade