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That's So Punny! Trivia Quiz

I'll bet you thought this would be a funny punny quiz. Well, you thought wrong. Do you have any idea how many different kinds of puns there are? Come on in and find out. If you have enough time, you might even come back four seconds.

A multiple-choice quiz by reedy. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
reedy

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
331,354

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
1495

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. "You have hissed all my mystery lectures, and were caught fighting a liar in the quad. Having tasted two worms, you will leave by the next town drain."

This is an example of what kind of pun? Hint

Chiasmus

Spoonerism

Homographic Pun

Homophonic Pun

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. One of George Carlin's: "Atheism is a non-prophet institution."

What type of pun is this? Hint

Homophonic Pun

Homographic Pun

Spoonerism

Chiasmus

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. "Never let a fool kiss you, or a kiss fool you."

What kind of pun is it?

Hint

Homographic Pun

Chiasmus

Homophonic Pun

Spoonerism

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. "My girlfriend criticized my apartment, so I knocked her flat."

Which type of pun? Hint

Homophonic Pun

Chiasmus

Spoonerism

Homographic Pun

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. "Buccaneer: too much to pay for corn."

You would call this pun a(n): Hint

Tom Swifty Pun

Double Sound Pun

Anagram

Daffynition

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. ""Who discovered radium?" asked Marie, curiously."

This pun is a(n): Hint

Anagram

Tom Swifty Pun

Daffynition

Double Sound Pun

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. "Gone Chopin, Bach in a Minuet."

Type of pun: Hint

Double Sound Pun

Anagram

Tom Swifty Pun

Daffynition

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. "The Morse Code: here come dots!"

This pun is a(n): Hint

Tom Swifty Pun

Anagram

Double Sound Pun

Daffynition

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. There are still a few other categories of puns that I won't introduce at this time with examples -- these types include ambigrams, palindromes, oxymorons, pangrams, tongue twisters, portmanteau words, and extended puns. However, all good puns (if that isn't an oxymoron in itself) need to be delivered well. Which of the following is not essential in making a good pun? Hint

High IQ

Familiar references

Quick set-up

A pointed revelation (they 'get it')

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. I leave you now with a fill-in-the-blank to finish off the quiz. Hopefully you will go with that appreciative groan for the obvious pun to follow.

"Why did Billy tiptoe past the medicine cabinet?"

"He didn't want to wake up the _________ pills."

Answer: (zzzzzzz)

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. "You have hissed all my mystery lectures, and were caught fighting a liar in the quad. Having tasted two worms, you will leave by the next town drain." This is an example of what kind of pun?

Answer: Spoonerism

Or more properly: "You have missed all my history lectures, and were caught lighting a fire in the quad. Having wasted two terms, you will leave by the next down train."

A Spoonerism can be defined as "An often comical transposition of sounds (often the initial consonants) in two or more words."

Spoonerisms are named after William Archibald Spooner. Spooner was born in London in 1844 and he died in 1930. An ordained priest, he also served more than 60 years in various positions at New College, Oxford, where he also received his own education. The pun in this question is attributed to Spooner, himself.

2. One of George Carlin's: "Atheism is a non-prophet institution." What type of pun is this?

Answer: Homophonic Pun

A homophonic pun is one that plays on words that sound the same, but are spelled differently, and mean different things. As Walter Redfern put it, "To pun is to treat homonyms as synonyms."

3. "Never let a fool kiss you, or a kiss fool you." What kind of pun is it?

Answer: Chiasmus

Chiasmus (pronounced ky-AZ-mus) is a figure of speech where the wit is conveyed through a reversal of words or phrases in clauses. They can often be found in verse. This style of wording does not necessarily have to be humorous in nature, as is evidenced by the John F. Kennedy quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."

4. "My girlfriend criticized my apartment, so I knocked her flat." Which type of pun?

Answer: Homographic Pun

Homographic puns play on the multiple meanings that words of the SAME spelling may have.

5. "Buccaneer: too much to pay for corn." You would call this pun a(n):

Answer: Daffynition

A daffynition, or more properly a redefinition wordplay, takes words and gives them a new, humorous definition. This can be done through how the word sounds, as in the example given, or perhaps by simply making a new, funny definition. i.e. - Flashlight: a carrying case for dead batteries.

6. ""Who discovered radium?" asked Marie, curiously." This pun is a(n):

Answer: Tom Swifty Pun

A Tom Swifty pun is one in which a quoted phrase is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed. Typically, such puns are expressed using the name Tom, unless the pun calls for a different name, as my example did. The term comes from the fictional title character of a series of children's books written by Edward L. Stratemeyer (1862-1930).

7. "Gone Chopin, Bach in a Minuet." Type of pun:

Answer: Double Sound Pun

Double Sound Puns are very similar to homophonic and homographic puns, excepting that the words are only approximating their counterparts in sound, rather than being an exact match.

8. "The Morse Code: here come dots!" This pun is a(n):

Answer: Anagram

As with any anagram, all we have here is a rearrangement of letters to form a different word or phrase. In this case, it just happens to be a rearrangement that is a humorous counterpoint to the original. Some other favorites of mine:

Ronald Wilson Reagan: Insane Anglo Warlord
Mother-in-law: Woman Hitler
Circumstantial evidence: Can ruin a selected victim.

Answer: High IQ

Puns can be appreciated by all, even if the majority of them make you groan out loud.

10. I leave you now with a fill-in-the-blank to finish off the quiz. Hopefully you will go with that appreciative groan for the obvious pun to follow. "Why did Billy tiptoe past the medicine cabinet?" "He didn't want to wake up the _________ pills."

Answer: sleeping

Thank you for taking my quiz on puns! Just remember, "Puns don't kill people, people kill puns!"

Source: Author reedy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

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