Daffynition
Encyclopedia
A daffynition is a pun
format involving the reinterpretation of an existing word, on the basis that it sounds like another word (or group of words). They are similar to transpositional puns, but often much less complex and easier to create.
Some daffynitions may be puns. For example, "raisins are the wrath of grapes" is a play on the title of the book The Grapes of Wrath
. A subclass of daffynition is the goofinition which relies strictly on literal associations and correct spellings, such as "lobster = a weak tennis player".
Under the name Uxbridge English Dictionary making up daffynitions is a popular game on the BBC Radio 4
comedy
quiz show
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
.
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
format involving the reinterpretation of an existing word, on the basis that it sounds like another word (or group of words). They are similar to transpositional puns, but often much less complex and easier to create.
Some daffynitions may be puns. For example, "raisins are the wrath of grapes" is a play on the title of the book The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962....
. A subclass of daffynition is the goofinition which relies strictly on literal associations and correct spellings, such as "lobster = a weak tennis player".
Under the name Uxbridge English Dictionary making up daffynitions is a popular game on the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
quiz show
Quiz Show
Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, sometimes abbreviated to ISIHAC or Clue, is a BBC radio comedy panel game broadcast since 11 April 1972 at the rate of one or two series each year , transmitted on BBC Radio 4, with occasional repeats on BBC Radio 4 Extra and the BBC's World Service...
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Examples
- apéritif: A set of dentures. (a-pair-of-teeth)
- avoidable: What a bullfighter tries to do. (avoid-a-bull)
- buccaneer: too much to pay for corn ([a]-buck-an-ear)
- dandelion: A fashionably dressed big cat (dandy-lion)
- decadent: Possessing only ten teeth. (deca-dent)
- devastation: Where people wait for buses. (the-bus-station)
- dilate: live long (die-late)
- fortunate: Consumption of an expensive meal. (fortune-ate)
- impolite: A flaming goblin. (imp-alight)
- indistinct: where one places dirty dishes (in-the-sink)
- information: how geese fly (in-formation)
- innuendoes: Italian suppositories. (in-you-end-os)
- insolent: Fallen off the Isle of WightIsle of WightThe Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
ferryIsle of Wight ferry servicesThere are currently three different ferry companies that operate vessels carrying passengers and, on certain routes, vehicles across the Solent, the stretch of sea that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England...
. (in-SolentSolentThe Solent is a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England.The Solent is a major shipping route for passengers, freight and military vessels. It is an important recreational area for water sports, particularly yachting, hosting the Cowes Week sailing event annually...
) - isolate: Me not on time. (I-(am)-so-late)
- legend: A foot. (leg-end)
- oboe: An English trampTrampA tramp is a long term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking or hiking all year round. In British English meanwhile a tramp simply refers to a homeless person, usually not a travelling one....
. (hobo) - paradox: Two doctors. (pair-of-docs) or where one ties two boats. (Pair of docks)
- pasteurize: Too far to see. (past-your-eyes)
- protein: In favor of youth. (pro-teen)
- propaganda: A gentlemanly gooseGooseThe word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
. (proper-ganderGander-Canada:* Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, a town in Canada** Gander , a provincial electoral district** Gander Academy, an elementary school in Gander** Gander Collegiate, a high school in Gander...
) - relief: What trees do in Spring. (re-leaf)