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Punned vs Punnet - What's the difference?

punned | punnet |

As a verb punned

is past tense of pun.

As a noun punnet is

a small basket or receptacle for collecting and selling fruit, particularly strawberries.

punned

English

Verb

(head)
  • (pun)

  • pun

    English

    (wikipedia pun)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) . More at (l).

    Verb

  • To beat; strike with force; ram; pound, as in a mortar; reduce to powder.
  • * Shakespeare
  • He would pun thee into shivers with his fist.

    Etymology 2

    From a special use of Etymology 1 .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • 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 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."
  • *:Comment : Austen was likely referring to spanking/flogging, then common naval punishments, known as (le vice Anglais) .
  • 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 also

    Verb

  • To make or tell a pun; make a play on words.
  • We punned about the topic until all around us groaned.
    See also
    * antanaclasis * paronomasia

    Anagrams

    * ----

    punnet

    English

    (wikipedia punnet)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (UK, Australia, New Zealand) A small basket or receptacle for collecting and selling fruit, particularly strawberries.
  • * 1904 , Arthur George Liddon Rogers, The Business Side of Agriculture , 2010, Forgotten Books, page 85:
  • Thus, according to the same Year-Book'', a sea-kale punnet''' measures 8 in. in diameter at the top and 7½ in. at the bottom, being 2 in. deep, while a radish '''punnet''' is 8 in. in diameter and 1 in. deep, if to hold six “hands,” or 9 in. by 1 in. for twelve “hands.” A mushroom '''punnet''' is 7 in. by 1 in., while a salading ' punnet is 5 in. by 2 in.
  • * 1917 , Stevenson Whitcomb Fletcher, The Strawberry in North America: History, Origin, Botany, and Breeding , pages 77-78:
  • Another type of splint basket, called a punnet', was used in the strawberry trade of New York City between 1815 and 1850.' Punnets and pottles found little favor except in the vicinity of Boston and New York and were soon discarded for more convenient and less expensive packages.
  • * 1933 , South Australian Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Journal of Agriculture, South Australia , Volume 36, page 1292:
  • Most of the fruit for market is picked and sold in punnets , but for jam making buckets are used, similar to the raspberry bucket.
  • * 1982 , New Zealand Department of Agriculture, New Zealand journal of agriculture , page 13:
  • Early this season, Ross Lill got together with a plastics firm to produce a flat tray to replace the commonly used punnet .
  • * 2005 , , The Complete Burke's Backyard: The Ultimate Book of Fact Sheets , page 408:
  • However we recommend, particularly in cooler climates, sowing tomato seeds into a seed tray or punnet and allowing the seedlings to grow before they are transplanted into the garden.
  • * 2007 May 13, Amelia Hill, , Forget superfoods, you can?t beat an apple a day :
  • ‘But rather than spend £5 on a small punnet of exotic berries, a family would be better off buying regular and larger quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables from their local market.’

    Synonyms

    * (receptacle for strawberries) chip (qualifier), pottle