# Why are puns considered the lowest form of humor? Why do folks groan, even at good puns? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516 "2020-08-19T19:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/42 "2020-08-20T20:27:06Z")
I like to point out the Oscar-winning film _Black and White in Color_ was translated from the French _Noirs et Blancs en couleur._ It is literally correct (other than switching the color words) except “en couleur” is a pun on “en colère” – meaning “angry,” which is exactly what the movie is about. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/43 "2020-08-20T20:46:34Z")
I consider puns a lower form of humor, because they rely on largely coincidental similarities between spellings and pronunciations of words. Words and spellings are largely arbitrary, so I don’t really consider them very interesting. I also don’t like word games like Will Shortz does on Weekend Edition. I prefer humor that relies on meaning and information and concepts rather than spelling and pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/44 "2020-08-20T23:27:42Z")
My dad used to say when I was a kid “I eat puns for breakfast, because they’re the cream of wit.” I agree. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/45 "2020-08-20T23:40:00Z")
I like a good pun that turns on alternate word definitions. I’m not as fond of puns that use just similar sounding words. Good, spontaneous puns require a good vocabulary so I don’t think they are low humor. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/46 "2020-08-21T02:11:59Z")
I particularly hate word games that rely on counting letters or other arbitrary things about what letters appear in a word. I couldn’t care less about the letter count in a word. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/47 "2020-08-21T02:32:01Z")
I like good puns and I cannot lie. Sure, they’re not Shakespeare but they’re enjoyable and not everybody’s Shakespeare. Good one from the boards awhile back: How are Miss Muffet and Saddam Hussein alike? Both had curds (Kurds) in their whey (way). My sister told me about an incident that happened at the agricultural area of the midwestern town where she lives. Someone supposedly arrived early to tend the animals (which, for a farm setting is what, 2 AM?) and apparently scared someone off from screwing a sheep. The evidence: a filmy nighty was left in the stall. “They never caught him,” she said. “He could be out there right now…” So you’re saying he’s still on the lam? (I was pretty darn proud of myself for thinking of that). Spoonerisms, mondegreens, slapstick, observational bits, whatever—if it makes the day a little easier or a bit more enjoyable, I’m for it. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/48 "2020-08-21T03:08:19Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I like good puns and I cannot lie. Sure, they’re not Shakespeare but they’re enjoyable and not everybody’s Shakespeare. Actually, Shakespeare used puns extensively. I’ve heard that they were considered witty and not a low form of humor in his time. Just look at the dying Mercutio’s words in _Romeo and Juliet_: “Ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man.” ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2020, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/49 "2020-08-22T12:20:45Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > I love pun humour and use it all the time myself. If you get groans, that’s usually because there’s a lack of a sense of humour in your audience and you know to back off. My one friend always groans when she hears puns. We attribute it to her lack of exposure, as her father didn’t like puns. Of course the rest of us always send puns her way. Have to make up for lost time! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/50 "2020-08-22T13:55:18Z")
I guess I’ll trot out my own personal best, which elicited, yes, only groans. We were at an amateur ice hockey game, seated directly behind one of the nets. The goaltender’s name on the back of his uniform: Yost. I wondered aloud whether his dad and grandpa might be in attendance. Silence. Then, a friend decided to be the one to ask why. “Because”, I said, “then we’d have the father, the son, and the goalie Yost”. (I realized points will be deducted because I created the set-up as well as the punch line). mmm ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/51 "2020-08-22T15:10:11Z")
If the goalie’s name was Host, you’d get spoonerism type credit. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/52 "2020-08-22T21:55:30Z")
You might come up with ten spontaneous puns in the hope that at least one would elicit a chuckle, only to find that no pun in ten did. [See here.](http://www.diduask.com/punny2.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/53 "2020-08-23T01:17:11Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Spoonerisms, mondegreens, slapstick, observational bits, whatever—if it makes the day a little easier or a bit more enjoyable, I’m for it. Hear hear! And right here here on SDMB, the best one I’ve ever seen. I was talking about the futility of cleaning the kitchen floor with dynamite, and someone – anyone remember who? – said “Linoleum Blownapart.” Best pun I’ve ever seen in my entire life, and I swear I did _not_ deliberately set it up for him! ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/54 "2020-08-23T02:10:08Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > did _not_ deliberately set it up for him! Are you so sure… Wait for it. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/55 "2020-08-23T11:28:41Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > …And right here here on SDMB, the best one I’ve ever seen. I was talking about the futility of cleaning the kitchen floor with dynamite, and someone – anyone remember who? – said “Linoleum Blownapart.”… That’s beautiful. I defy anyone to groan at that masterpiece. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/56 "2020-08-23T16:15:49Z")
Groaning doesn’t necessarily need to indicate disappointment with the punch line. It can indicate disappointment that you didn’t see it coming; which would be a compliment on par with laughter. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/57 "2020-08-26T02:08:39Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Actually, Shakespeare used puns extensively. I’ve heard that they were considered witty and not a low form of humor in his time. I remember that line. IIRC Shakespeare played to some people who weren’t at all educated, rough folks who paid just a little to get in, so entertaining them at their level must have been important. If you went into a movie and all the jokes were over your head, would you return? Those less educated folk helped pay the bills at a time when acting and drama were barely tolerated…from what I understand, actors and such were often suspect, viewed as not much better than prostitutes. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2873319?seq=1](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2873319?seq=1) On the other hand, people of that era were also into bear-baiting so I don’t mean to appear to endorse their opinion or anything. If puns were the extent of his comedic repertoire, would we talk about him in modern times? He did sprinkle some of that sugar into the work but I think he went for something bigger. I return to Ricky Bobby saying grace over the “always delicious Taco Bell.” I’m sure Shakespeare could make a pun with the best of them, and I don’t mean to split hairs, but were puns high humor to the people who represent the submerged part of the iceberg? YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/58 "2020-08-28T20:06:05Z")
Many of you have doubtless heard this one. But a woman whose three boys started a cattle ranch was asked what to name it. She replied “Focus”. “Focus?” “Focus is where the sons raise meat.” ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516/59 "2020-08-29T00:21:33Z")
**Hari\_Seldon** – somewhat appropriately, it was Isaac Asimov who pointed out that the “sons raise meat” pun is often a failure when spoken aloud. The listener will hear one of the two possible meanings, but rarely will the listener hear _both_. Instead of a pun, it is either a tautology or a non sequitur. Asimov gave several examples of “perfect” puns of this sort, and suggested they rarely strike the listener as funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-puns-considered-the-lowest-form-of-humor-why-do-folks-groan-even-at-good-puns/918516.md?page=2)