Daffynition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A daffynition is a pun format involving the reinterpretation of an existing word, on the basis that it sounds like another word (or group of words). They are similar to transpositional puns, but often much less complex and easier to create. Some daffynitions may be cheap puns, but others can be clever, such as "raisins=the wrath of grapes". A subclass of daffynition is the goofinition which relies strictly on literal associations and correct spellings, such as "lobster=a weak tennis player".
Under the name Uxbridge English Dictionary making up daffynitions is a popular game on the BBC Radio 4 comedy quiz show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
[edit] Examples
- abominable: A bull that swallowed a bomb. (bomb-in-a-bull)
- alarms: What an octopus is. (all arms)
- baby: Newly-wet. (wet-wed)
- Bangalore: Distort a story. (bang-a-lore)
- bigamist: An Italian fogbank. (big-a-mist)
- clam: Jello with book ends.
- dockyard: A physician's garden. (doc yard)
- dynamite: To take a flea out to dinner. (dine-a-mite)
- garbage: Eatables smelled backwards. (smelled-spelled)
- hula dance: Wild waist show. (Wild West-wild waist)
- impolite: A flaming elf. (imp-alight)
- innuendoes: Italian suppositories. (in-you-end-os)
- oboe: An English tramp. (hobo)
- paradox: Two doctors. (pair of docs) OR Where one ties two boats. (Pair of docks)
- pasteurise: Too far to see. (past your eyes)
- pretzel: Edible handcuffs.
- propaganda: A gentlemanly goose. (proper gander)
- prune: A plum that has seen better days.
- shrewd: A rude shrew. (shrew + rude)
- shrink: An ice-skating shrew. (shrew + rink)
- pronoun: A noun that has lost its amateur status. (pro + noun) (From Calvin and Hobbes)
- dilate: live long (die late)
- quack doctor: One who "ducks" the law.
- buccaneer: too much to pay for corn ([a] buck an ear)
- vacuum cleaner: A broom with a stomach.
- wolf: A big dame hunter. One who loves life, liberty, and the happiness of pursuit. (Dame hunter-game hunter; Pursuit of happiness--happiness of pursuit)
- zebra: 25 sizes larger than an A-bra. (Z bra-zebra)
