Play On Words - Wiktionary

Jump to content

Contents

move to sidebar hide

• Beginning
• 1 English Toggle English subsection
  • 1.1 Alternative forms
  • 1.2 Pronunciation
  • 1.3 Noun
    • 1.3.1 Translations
    • 1.3.2 See also

• Entry
• Discussion

English

• Read
• Edit
• View history

Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions

• Read
• Edit
• View history

General

• What links here
• Related changes
• Upload file
• Permanent link
• Page information
• Cite this page
• Get shortened URL
• Download QR code

Print/export

• Create a book
• Download as PDF
• Printable version

In other projects Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

• play of words

Pronunciation

[edit]

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

[edit]

Examples
"A boiled egg for breakfast is hard to beat." The word beat in the sentence can be interpreted in either of two ways: "be better than"—giving the sentence the meaning "It is hard for anything to be better than a boiled egg for breakfast," or "mix rapidly"—in which case the sentence would mean "It is hard to rapidly mix a boiled egg in preparation for breakfast."

play on words (plural plays on words)

1. (idiomatic) A pun, or similar humorous use of language such as a double entendre. Synonym: paronomasia
   • 1794, Mr. Malone's Edition of Shakſpeare's Works, in The Monthly Review Or Literary Journal Enlarged [2nd Series], Volume 13, R. Griffiths, page 265, Mr. Steevens alſo, influenced we ſuppoſe by the authority of Dr. Farmer, ſeems by the way in which he regulates the line in his new edition, to think that Shakſpeare here meaned no more than a play on words.
   • 1897, Jas. W. Tupper, English Drama: Das Wortspiel bei Shakspere, von Leopold Wurth, A. Marshall Elliott (managing editor), Modern Language Notes, Volume XII, page 171, There are two general classes under which all the examples are grouped: plays on words which are due to a double meaning, and the plays merely on sound (die Laut- oder Klaugspiele). The term for the latter group Dr. Wurth gives as puns, punnings.
   • 1988, Linda S. Myrsiades, The Karagiozis Heroic Performance in Greek Shadow Theater, University Press of New England, page 234:19. The original play on words here is between furlani (decree) and hurlani (date).

Translations

[edit] pun or similar humorous use of language

Catalan: joc de paraules (ca) m Finnish: sanaleikki (fi) French: jeu de mots (fr) m Icelandic: orðaleikur m Italian: bisticcio di parole m, gioco di parole m Latin: dicacitas f Polish: gra słów (pl) f Russian: игра́ сло́в (ru) f (igrá slóv) Scottish Gaelic: cluich m, cleas-cainnte m Serbo-Croatian: Roman: igra reči f, igra rečima f Spanish: juego de palabras (es) m Swedish: ordlek (sv) c

See also

[edit]

• word game
• wordplay

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=play_on_words&oldid=85153192" Categories:

• English terms with audio pronunciation
• English lemmas
• English nouns
• English countable nouns
• English multiword terms
• English idioms
• English terms with quotations
• en:Linguistics
• en:Figures of speech

Hidden categories:

• Pages with entries
• Pages with 1 entry
• Entries with translation boxes
• Terms with Catalan translations
• Terms with Finnish translations
• Terms with French translations
• Terms with Icelandic translations
• Terms with Italian translations
• Terms with Latin translations
• Terms with Polish translations
• Terms with Russian translations
• Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations
• Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations
• Terms with Spanish translations
• Terms with Swedish translations

Search Search Toggle the table of contents play on words 8 languages Add topic