![]() ![]() “We feel really bad about what we did,” the children said shamefully.“I’m stocked on all the essentials,” Jess said needlessly.The term Tom Swifty was coined by writer Willard Espy and named after the Tom Swift series of books, which tended to use a lot of adverbs to describe dialogue. The negotiations over the birds went poorly neither side would give a finch.Ī Tom Swifty is a fun use of words that follows a quote, usually said by a fictional Tom, using a punny adverb.As it turned out, the runners themselves had rigged the race.When he asked me what the flowers should smell like, I told him to use common scents.She claimed the big cat was a tiger, but we knew she was lion.Puns that involve similar sounding words: The maestro turned away from the orchestra as they told him the bad news he couldn’t face the music.The investor in the bakery demanded a larger piece of the pie.The young monkeys went to the jungle gym for some exercise.Puns that involve words with multiple meanings: The term double entendre refers to a type of wordplay that also uses words with multiple meanings, albeit usually in a more risqué manner than a whimsical pun. The related terms punning, play on words, and paronomasia are often used to refer to the act of making puns. Fair warning: those that have a low tolerance for dad jokes will want to leave immediately.īy definition, a pun is a humorous use of a word with multiple meanings or a funny use of a word as a substitute for a similar sounding word. Are you skeptical? Well, we have dug deep into the English toy box to find a bunch of different ways we can play with words. ![]() While the English language often seems to exist purely to confuse us, English also has a silly side that can make us laugh and smile. ![]() At the same time, words have a fun side to them too. That's what we say, pointedly.Words are powerful, and a masterful use of words can change the world. If nothing else, they're fun and they'll help keep your mind sharp. Tom Swifties seem to have fallen into disuse in recent years – they're overdue for a revival. "I just dropped the toothpaste," said Tom crestfallenly. "I just ran over my father," Tom said transparently. "I lost my trousers," said Tom expansively. "Let's trap that sick bird," Tom said illegally. "Don't you love sleeping outdoors," Tom said intently. Sometimes they require a little more thought to get: "I can't find the oranges," said Tom fruitlessly. "Welcome to my tomb," said Tom cryptically. "Let's gather up the rope," said Tom coyly. (Although the books were all credited to "Victor Appleton," he was imaginary – the books were actually written by several different authors.) In the series, which had titles that included Tom Swift in the City of Gold, Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera, and Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight, the authors supposedly revealed a weakness for adverbs, attaching an excess of them to dialogue in order to add color and variety to the narration. The form takes its name from the main character in a series of adventure books published by Edward Stratemeyer beginning in 1910. Merriam-Webster was fortunate to acquire the rights to these books and published excerpts from them in a collection entitled The Best of an Almanac of Words at Play in 1999.ĭroll humor is a feature of much of the material Espy collected, as is apparent in the Almanac entry for Tom Swifties. The term was coined by Willard Espy (1911–99), one of the masters of word play, who compiled two wonderful collections of poems, essays, quizzes, and other writings about language: An Almanac of Words at Play (1975) and Another Almanac of Words at Play (1980).
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