Puns are getting more and more commonly used in social media. For those who don’t know, a pun is a play on words that creates a different meaning for certain words or phrases.

1.“Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He’s all right now.”

Clearly this sentence could be interpreted multiple ways. The guy could be alright as in feeling okay or he could be all right as in he only has a right side. What’s funny about this phrase is that the guy happened to be in an accident where he lost his left side so now he only has a right side.

When I first saw this pun my immediate reaction was to laugh. I ended up laughing for a few minutes and my parents gave me a strange look. I don’t really think the guy would be alright if he only has his left side. It is impossible to live with only half of a body. This is clearly an unbelievable story, but I will admit that it is very humorous.

1. “I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.”

When a baseball is thrown at someone, it obviously moves closer and closer to the person. In this situation the person is wondering why the baseball is getting bigger, then they’re getting hit with the ball. The baseball is coming quickly and before they know it the person is being hit with a flying ball.

I like this pun because it’s very relatable. This seems like something I would do. I would stand there and wait for the ball to hit me. The incoming ball would most likely injure the person just standing there waiting to be hit. It is nearly impossible to escape this situation without a cut or concussion. If I were in this situation I would hope to not be too shocked so that I’d be able to run away from the ball.

1. “I wasn’t originally going to get a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind.”

This pun basically explains how a brain transplant works. In a brain transplant, the person gets their mind switched out for a new one. This could also have a deeper meaning, not just for laughs. The mind is being changed from one personality to another, an alter ego. Most people would just think of the humorous way though.

When I saw this pun, at first I didn’t understand the meaning, I had to re-read it a few times. After I understood the joke, I finally found the humor and laughed way harder than I should have. Getting a brain transplant is literally changing a person’s mind, not personality wise, but they have a new brain. This is one of my favorite puns because I laughed way too long and I find the irony of the situation hilarious.

1. “Yesterday I accidentally swallowed some food coloring. The doctor says I’m okay, but I feel like I’ve dyed a little inside.”

The words ‘died’ and ‘dyed’ are used as the same meaning in this pun. This person has swallowed food coloring, which could literally dye their insides and make them feel like they’re dying inside. In this case, they use the word ‘dyed’ but use the meaning of ‘died’, which is a huge play on words. Luckily, it works well with the statement.

I have seen this pun in multiple places, mainly on Twitter. I find this pun full of humor, but also extremely clever with the usage of words. Both words have the same sound but a completely different meaning, which makes it fit in and causes humor. This is another one of my favorites because every time I see it, I end up not being able to contain my laughter at all.

1. “Have you ever tried to eat a clock? It’s very time consuming.”

Time consuming activities are usually sports or school work. In this case, eating a clock is time consuming because a clock tells time. Basically, the joke is that the person is eating up time meaning that it takes too much time to do so. Eating a clock takes some time and most likely requires effort.

It is impossible to actually eat a clock. I guess if someone really tried, they could make it work, but I wouldn’t recommend trying it. I don’t think I would never attempt to eat a clock. It wouldn’t taste very good. This pun isn’t very truthful, but it is very entertaining and funny. The first time I saw this I thought to myself. “How would someone eat a clock?” I didn’t even realize it was supposed to be a pun.

1. “A man just assaulted me with milk, cream, and butter. How dairy.”

Milk, cream, and butter are all dairy products and used in this pun. A man is apparently assaulting someone with dairy products so saying ‘how dairy’ sounds very similar to ‘how dare he’. The joke is that using one word is supposed to sound like a whole phrase if it’s read super fast. If it’s not read fast and altogether, then this pun most likely won’t make sense.

I admit that this could be a hard one to understand and may need to be re-read a few times before the reader can understand. It took me a little while to process and analyze what the joke was. I think it would be very hard to successfully assault someone with dairy products. I guess some people may prefer non-violence, which is definitely better than being violent.

1. “A new type of broom came out, it is sweeping the nation.”

A broom’s job is to sweep up any floor. When a new broom comes out, it spreads throughout the nation. This is a pun that uses the literal job of a broom to promote a new one. A broom that is used to clean floors is sweeping the nation, this means that it became a very popular household item.

Sadly, a broom can’t literally sweep the whole nation. It’s impossible for a broom to travel across the nation and sweep anything and everything. I wish it could happen because then I wouldn’t have to do any chores. This isn’t one of my favorites but I do find it very clever. This pun hardly needs explanation because it is pretty self-explanatory. It is understood easily to most people. I was able to understand this pun quickly and it was easily analyzed.

1. “He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends.”

There is an expensive car called a Mercedes Benz, a very popular car for car fanatics. The joke is that ‘Benz’ and ‘bends’ sound similar but have different meanings. Driving his car into a tree wrecked his Mercedes Benz, therefore making his Mercedes bend around the tree. I guess the guy was able to see how a Mercedes bends thanks to driving into a tree.

            Driving into a tree is actually very realistic, tragic, but real. People who may have had an accident similar to this may not find it funny, but I do. I can’t imagine the pain this guy faces with seeing his very expensive car bent around a tree. I feel sympathy for him. I hope that if I were to ever own a Mercedes Benz that I won’t figure out how a Mercedes bends.

1. “When William joined the army he disliked the phrase ‘fire at will’.”

            Apparently William goes by Will in this situation. A common phrase used in the army is ‘fire at will’ so William must have thought that the commander wanted everyone to fire their guns at him. This pun describes William’s confusion in the army. Poor William doesn’t understand that the commander isn’t talking about firing at a person. He meant that the soldiers needed to fire when they are ready and when the time is right.

            This is another one of my favorite puns because Will can be a name but it’s also a commonly used word. If I were William I would’ve thought the same thing as him. I always assume people are talking to me when I hear anything that sounds similar to my name. It’s good that it doesn’t mean to literally fire at Will otherwise William would be dead.

1. “The experienced carpenter really nailed it but the new guy screwed everything up.”

            A carpenter literally is supposed to nail objects together and fix things. Nailing it can also mean doing an outstanding job on something and it’s good to hear that phrase. They also screw objects together to hold it together. Unfortunately, screwing something up is a bad thing; it means that someone messed up. This joke is using the literal jobs of a carpenter to describe how well of a job the experienced guy does and how terrible the new guy messes up.

            This is another pun I laughed at pretty hard because I relate to both guys in this situation. In everything I do I either nail it and I’m outstanding or I screw up terribly. I thought it was very clever to use the literal job description to explain how each guy did their job