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The Art Of Punning Trivia Quiz

Punning is the humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound. In this quiz you either have to complete a pun, or to find out which headline, ad or slogan uses punning.

A multiple-choice quiz by flem-ish. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
flem-ish

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
96,382

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Easy

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
5363

Last 3 plays: Guest 136 (7/10), Gumby1967 (8/10), CardoQ (10/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which of these slogans uses a pun that would suit a telephone company wanting to stimulate its male customers to use the phone for their amorous phone-calls? Hint

The phone is faster

Give her a call

Give her a ring

Ring her up

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Which of these slogans uses punning to promote the selling of a particular brand of whisky? Hint

Jack Daniels Tastes Exactly Like No Other Whisky

Bushmills is Better

Teachers Are in a Different Class

Bell's Sells Best

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. "We'll give you sound advice" would be a suitable pun for which of these? Hint

a hi-fi shop

an advertising company

a bank

a lawyers' office

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Which of these paraphrases might be O.K. as a pun if you wanted to sell a BMW with a big windscreen? Hint

BMW: a panoramic car

BMW: a car with a view

BMW: a scenic car

BMW: a vroom with a view

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. "There is a terrific draught in here" would be a nice pun for which of these establishments? Hint

a movie-theatre

a music academy

a school-building

a pub

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Which of these slogans could be used as a pun by the British Conservatives to criticize the Labour party? Hint

Labour isn't working

Labour is not getting anywhere

Labour is not keeping its promises

Labour is not doing the country much good

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Can you find a suitable pun to express the idea that it is better to solve a conflict by going to the vote than by starting a civil war?
"Ballots, not __________!"

Answer: (Seven letters)

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. With what pun might a department-store solicit its customers not to leave without buying something? "Don't leave without a good-___!".

Answer: (Three letters.)

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Which of these newspaper headlines (which might have appeared in 1994) uses a pun to report that Mr. Blair has been chosen as the new leader of the Labour party? Hint

Mr. Right for the Left

Mr. Blair To Be New Face of Labour

Mr. Blair Gets the Job

It's Tony!

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Which of these would make a good punning headline for a paper having to report on sex-scandals involving R.C. priests? Hint

When Dad Is a Cleric

When Dad Is a Father

When Dad Is a Priest

When Celibacy Runs out of Control

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 12 2024 : Guest 136: 7/10
Oct 10 2024 : Gumby1967: 8/10
Oct 03 2024 : CardoQ: 10/10
Sep 24 2024 : spaismunky: 10/10

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which of these slogans uses a pun that would suit a telephone company wanting to stimulate its male customers to use the phone for their amorous phone-calls?

Answer: Give her a ring

A ring is also 'a circular piece of jewellery'.
'The phone is faster' is a good example of alliterative use of language.

2. Which of these slogans uses punning to promote the selling of a particular brand of whisky?

Answer: Teachers Are in a Different Class

Teachers is a brand of whisky, for whom this slogan would be appropriate.
'Bushmills Is Better' just has alliteration.
'Bells Sells Best' has alliteration and rhyme.
The Jack Daniels slogan uses the technique of the unexpected continuation, as when Oscar Wilde said: "Women are sphinxes - without a secret."

3. "We'll give you sound advice" would be a suitable pun for which of these?

Answer: a hi-fi shop

The structure of sound advice can be read as either adjective + substantive (the advice being sound because it shows good judgment), or substantive + substantive (the advice being about sound).

4. Which of these paraphrases might be O.K. as a pun if you wanted to sell a BMW with a big windscreen?

Answer: BMW: a vroom with a view

Of course this is an allusion to E.M.Forster's book "A Room With A View".
Vroom is onomatopeic for car.
Most ad-makers may prefer less high-brow ads, however.
Renault already uses Scenic as a label for one of their makes of car. They spell it with an "accent" on the e.

5. "There is a terrific draught in here" would be a nice pun for which of these establishments?

Answer: a pub

Draught: a current of unpleasantly cold air blowing through a room OR beer stored in and served from large containers, barrels. There is, of course, also "draught" as in draught horse, or as when referring to the depth of water needed for a boat to be able to float.

In fact, "There is a terrific draught in here" was used in a 1970 advert for Heineken Draught Lager. A classic ad for beer is "We serve Directors only", Directors being a brand of beer.

6. Which of these slogans could be used as a pun by the British Conservatives to criticize the Labour party?

Answer: Labour isn't working

Labour basically means practical work, especially when it involves physical effort. Labour, of course, can also be the last stage of pregnancy. In U.K. Labour is the political party that is supposed to believe in social equality, a more equal sharing out of wealth and the rights of the workers.

Labourers does not refer to members of the Labour party, but to those who do unskilled physical work outside.

7. Can you find a suitable pun to express the idea that it is better to solve a conflict by going to the vote than by starting a civil war? "Ballots, not __________!"

Answer: bullets

A ballot is originally a piece of paper on which you write your vote. A piece of paper that has been crumpled and pressed into a little paper ball was a ballot.

8. With what pun might a department-store solicit its customers not to leave without buying something? "Don't leave without a good-___!".

Answer: bye

Ad-designers visualize this type of pun by adding a second orthography on top of the first as a kind of graffiti: Good-"bye", correction "buy".

9. Which of these newspaper headlines (which might have appeared in 1994) uses a pun to report that Mr. Blair has been chosen as the new leader of the Labour party?

Answer: Mr. Right for the Left

Mr. Right plays on the opposition between left and right in politics. Normally Mr. Right is the term to refer to the ideal choice a girl is trying to make when looking for a husband.

As many leftist members of the Labour party felt Mr. Blair was somewhat to the right of real Labour ideology, the headline might acquire an extra dimension of ambiguity.

"Mr. Right For the Left" also illustrates another special use of language: antithesis.

10. Which of these would make a good punning headline for a paper having to report on sex-scandals involving R.C. priests?

Answer: When Dad Is a Father

"Father" is normally the male parent, but it can also refer to a Christian priest, especially a Roman Catholic or Orthodox one.

The headline was actually used by Time Magazine some years ago when Irish priests were revealed as having broken their celibacy vows.

Source: Author flem-ish

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