Why not rewrite the sentence to avoid the pun.
Because the pun is intended.
Because they’re lying. The pun IS intended.
ETA: ninja’d!
Yeah, thought as much. Takes away the fun in finding them.
For a more GQ answer: because sometimes, the line as written (even though it is a pun) is the way that makes the most sense.
Sometimes there is no good synonym for a word that creates a pun on a situation. Or at least the writer can’t think of one that has the same connotations as that other word that he wants to use.
If this is about evolution … then you’re just splitting hares … no pun intended.
I once entered a newspaper pun contest, but I was worried about the competition, so I went ahead and entered my ten best instead of the one or two I normally would. But when I checked the announcement to see how many of mine had taken prizes, you know what I found? No pun in ten did.
That’s the purpose of that phrase.
It shows that you’re such a damn clever humorist that you come up with humorous stuff even though you weren’t trying.
Most likely, the sentence was not constructed with the goal of making a pun, and any punning was accidental. The pun is kept in, so in that sense it is intended, but the main point of the statement in question is not the pun. There’s a joke in there, yes, but you should still read the sentence for the information/argumentative value. Then we can go over here and [del]laugh [/del]groan at the pun in an unrelated sort of way.
Because the human urge to make a pun whenever possible is strong enough to override even hunger, thirst and the instinct for self-preservation. No one walks away from a pun willingly when they find one.
Also to make sure that everyone notices that there’s a pun there. Because even a good pun is bad, but a bad pun is unnoticeable.
Personally, in that situation, I go with “pun retroactively intended”. As in, I didn’t realize the pun would be there when I was writing, but once it got there, I’m sure not going to take it out.
Well, that probably takes more work than writing “no pun intended”.
But as noted, there is no factual answer to this question. Or at least there is no single factual answer. It’s going to depend on who does the writing. And if someone does take the time to rewrite to avoid the pun, how would you know?
Moved to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Ha ha ha ha … very punny
I don’t think it is written as often as it is spoken. In conversation, one might not realize there has been in inadvertent pun until the words re already spoken and there is no delete button.
When it does occur in print, it is usually because the writer realizes afterward that there was a pun, and would rather proudly leave it in, than waste it.
I think to be a pun, it must be intended … otherwise it’s just poor spelting …
Why you gotta crap on everyones’ pun parade,Big Poo (pun intended)? 
I think it means: “Yes, there’s a pun there; well done to those who noticed it. Be aware that the creation of the pun was NOT the purpose of the statement, and please don’t allow it to distract your attention from my larger point.”
