What Does the Expression “Pun Intended” Mean?

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Learn all about puns and how to make a clever joke out of them

Co-authored by Marissa Levis and Dan Hickey

Last Updated: July 29, 2024 Fact Checked

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“Pun Intended” Meaning & Uses

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“No Pun Intended” Meanings & Uses

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What is a pun?

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Types of Puns

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Where did “pun intended” come from?

English is full of words and sounds that are so similar to each other, you might misinterpret what you’re reading or hearing. When someone intentionally exploits this confusion to make a pun (a type of play on words), they may call attention to their joke with the phrase “pun intended!” In this article, we’ll go over what “pun intended” and “no pun intended” mean and how to use them, plus dig into exactly what a pun even is anyway. Read on to learn more!

“Pun Intended” vs. “No Pun Intended”

“Pun intended” means that you intentionally made a pun (a play on similar words with different meanings or spellings) and want to call attention to the joke.
“No pun intended” means that you did not intentionally make a pun and want to clarify that you weren’t making a joke.
“No pun intended, perhaps?” calls attention to the play on words, but leaves it up to interpretation whether you did it on purpose or not.

Section 1 of 5:

“Pun Intended” Meaning & Uses

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“Pun intended” means you purposefully made a cheesy play on words and are calling attention to it. The pun or word play could include using words that sound the same, are spelled the same, or that have double meanings or entendres to make a joke or highlight a point. So, use the phrase “pun intended” as an aside to let the reader or listener know “this joke was on purpose.”^{[1]
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Research source} For example:
- “That turkey smells fowl (pun intended).”
  - Here, the speaker is making a play on smelling “foul” (bad) or “fowl” (a type of bird). By saying “pun intended,” they’re letting their audience know that the joke was on purpose.
- Tone tip: Using “pun intended” like this is a cheeky way to acknowledge or emphasize a lighthearted joke or unserious point. It’s a brief, humorous way to lighten up a conversation.

Section 2 of 5:

“No Pun Intended” Meanings & Uses

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“No pun intended” means you unintentionally made a play on words and are clarifying that you didn’t mean to make a joke. The English language is full of pun potential, and it’s very possible you might say or write something that could be interpreted multiple ways. Say “no pun intended” as an aside to clarify that the word play was not on purpose, you’re not making a joke, and that people should interpret the sentence in the context of whatever you were writing or talking about.^{[2]
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- “That turkey smells foul (no pun intended).”
  - Here, the speaker is clarifying that they meant the turkey smelled bad (and not like a bird) since it isn’t grammatically correct to say “smells foul” because “foul” isn’t an adjective.
- Tone tip: “No pun intended” is also a lighthearted phrase, but comes across a little less jokey than “pun intended.”
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“No pun intended” is also a sarcastic way to say that the word play was intentional. Since “no pun intended” still calls attention to the pun anyway (like “pun intended” does), use it sarcastically to make a joke more complex or pointed. It’s like you’re pretending you didn’t make the joke on purpose, but by very obviously pretending, you’re hinting that it actually was on purpose. For example:
- “I’ve got a bone to pick with the neighbor’s dog (no pun intended).”
  - Since dogs like chewing on bones, the pun is on the phrase “bone to pick,” which means “talking about a grievance.”
- By using “no pun intended” sarcastically, you’re calling out the pun while saying it wasn’t on purpose. This is a joke in itself, because saying it unintentionally here implies you’re actually going to get in a verbal argument with a dog. It could even be a reference to cheesy detective or superhero catch phrases that hit you over the head with puns or clichés.
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“No pun intended, perhaps?” is a variation of “no pun intended” that leaves it unclear whether you meant to make a pun or not. Like “pun intended” and “no pun intended,” this expression calls attention to the pun, but it doesn’t explicitly say whether the word play was intentional or not. This makes it clear that you as the writer or speaker recognize the pun, but also makes the listener or reader question your motive; did you write it by accident and call it out in a cheeky way? Or did you make the pun on purpose but don’t want to admit to it (similar to using “no pun intended” sarcastically)?
- “I’ve been to the dentist a thousand times, so I know the drill (no pun intended, perhaps?).”
  - There’s a pun on “drill” here; it can mean “routine” or a literal drill dentists use to fix teeth. Saying “perhaps” adds another layer of complexity. Did they accidentally make a pun and find it funny, or are they implying that they have some kind of deeper knowledge about dental drills?
- Tone tip: “No pun intended, perhaps?” is often a coy, flirty, or sarcastic way to hint that the joke or play on words was intentional, but not always. This is what makes it such a fun and head-scratching phrase!

Section 3 of 5:

What is a pun?

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A pun is “a humorous use of a word or phrase that has several meanings or that sounds like another word.”^{[3]
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Research source} Essentially, a pun is a type of word play where a writer or speaker chooses to use words that could be interpreted a different way or that have a double meaning to make a joke. Puns are usually simple, witty, and kind of corny (they’re used a lot in dad jokes and other cliché or “eye roll” humor).
- Consider the phrase “A pessimist’s blood type is always O-negative.”
  - In this example, the word “negative” is the base of the pun. Pessimists are associated with negativity, but “O-negative” is an actual blood type a person can have.

Section 4 of 5:

Types of Puns

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Homophonic puns use words that sound alike but have different spellings or meanings. Homophones are words that sound the same (or very similar) when spoken out loud, but have distinct meanings or different spellings. So, a homophonic pun takes advantage of the similarity for humorous effect.^{[4]
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Research source} Consider these examples:
- “Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a-salted.”
  - Here, the pun revolves around “assaulted” and “salted,” which are pronounced nearly the same way. An “assaulted peanut” means the peanut was attacked, while “salted” is a common way to eat peanuts.
- “Reading while sunbathing makes you well-red.”
  - Here, the pun is based on “red” and “read,” which are pronounced identically. Being “well read” means you’ve read a lot of different books and materials, while being “red” means you’ve been sunburned.
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Homographic puns use words that are spelled the same way but have different meanings. Homographs are words that are spelled identically but can mean different things. This type of pun is used in writing because the reader can see which word is being used and interpret the joke from there. Often, homographic puns are funny because either interpretation of the pun word can be true.^{[5]
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Research source} For example:
- “After hours of waiting for the bowling alley to open, we finally got the ball rolling.”
  - “Got the ball rolling” is the pun here; it’s a phrase that means “got something started” but can also literally refer to rolling a bowling ball.
- “Every calendar's days are numbered.”
  - Here, “numbered” refers to the actual dates on a calendar. However, the phrase “your days are numbered” means you only have a certain amount of days left before something bad happens.
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Compound puns use multiple punny words in one sentence. They use the sound of the punny words together to make a joke. These types of puns can be homophonic, homographic, or sometimes even both:^{[6]
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- “One hundred hares have escaped the zoo, so police are combing the area.”
  - “Hares” refers to the rabbit-like animal, but sounds like the word “hairs” (like on your head). “Combing” can mean “searching for,” but also “combing your hair.”
  - The pun on “hares” is homophonic, but “combing” is homographic.
- “A short psychic broke out of jail. She was a small medium at large.”
  - “Small” is another word for “short” and “medium” is another word for a psychic. “At large” is another way to say “missing” or “on the loose.” All together, “a small medium at large” sounds like someone listing the sizes of a shirt of coffee.

Section 5 of 5:

Where did “pun intended” come from?

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“Pun intended” has been used as a playful aside since the early 1800s.^{[7]
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Research source} Although puns have been used for centuries, writers may not have called them out directly until the 19th century when the wide circulation of written publications became easier. This coincides with the explosion of newspapers in countries like the US in the 1800s (there were more than 3,000 in the US by 1860, but only 200 in 1800).^{[8]
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Research source}
- Calling out puns may have been a way to give readers a chuckle and make the author’s writing more easily understandable for large, mixed audiences.
- However, it’s not exactly clear when or why the phrase “pun intended” showed up. But it’s definitely a staple expression in English today!
- One early example of “no pun intended” comes from a mid-1800s story where offending a turkey is referred to as “fowl play (no pun intended).”
- Another early example comes from a 1937 edition of Esquire. The author makes the joke, “I’m proud of my mother. She’s 71 and she’s still expanding (mentally I mean—no pun intended).”
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Puns exist in many languages but are particularly easy to make in English. This is because the English language has influences from many different languages like French, German, Old Norse, and more. This led to a huge vocabulary (often having multiple words to describe the same thing) and a lot of similar or overlapping sounds or pronunciations to play with. These are all ingredients for great puns!^{[9]
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- One of the earliest puns ever recorded comes from a Sanskrit text about floods in the 7th century BC. The Sanskrit language is very pun-friendly, too.
- In fact, the word “pundit” in Sanskrit means someone who defines or clears up ambiguous information and may be where the modern English word “pun” comes from.