A Very “Punny” Play: "The Light Princess"

Joel Gelman, Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper and Emily Eiden in The Light Princess.

The title of The Light Princess contains a pun, a humorous play on words in which a single word has multiple meanings at once. In this example, “light” refers to both a lack of gravity (physical) and a lack of seriousness (emotional).

Here are a few other examples of puns. In each example, circle the word that is the pun. (In the first question, this word has been bolded for you.) This word has two meanings, one in each column of answers. In the blanks next to the questions, write the letters that correspond with both definitions of the circled word.

1. What did the road say to the bridge? You make me cross. ____f____, ________
2. Pencils could be made with erasers at both ends, but what would be the point? ________, ________
3. The tale of the haunted refrigerator was chilling. ________, ________
4. A giraffe is the highest form of animal life. ________, ________
5. A man rushed into the doctor’s office and shouted, “Doctor! Doctor! I think I’m shrinking!” The doctor calmly responded, “Now, settle down. You’ll just have to be a little patient.” ________, ________ (Note: there are actually two words in this sentence that are puns—“little” can mean both small and a bit. Look for the meanings of the other pun in the sentence.)
6. I was struggling to figure out how lightning works then it struck me. ________, ________
7. A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West and announces: “I’m looking for the man who shot my paw. “ ________, ________
8. I saw a sign that said falling rocks, so I tried and it doesn’t. ________, ________
9. Q: What travels faster, hot or cold? A: Hot, because you can always catch cold. ________, _________

Answers: Column 1
a. frightening, scary
b. to hit, to collide
c. willing to wait
d. a mild illness characterized by a runny nose and sore throat
e. tallest
f. to pass from one side of something to the other
g. to be exciting or awesome
h. the purpose or reason for something
i. an animal’s foot

Answers: Column 2
j. father
k. to occur to someone, to spring to mind
l. the tip or sharp end of something
m. cold, freezing
n. a lack of heat
o. most developed or complex
p. stones
q. a person receiving medical treatment
r. angry or irritated

Where do fairy tales come from? Find out in this BBC Culture article.

Answers: 1. Cross (f, r); 2. Point (h, l); 3. Chilling (a, m); 4. Highest (e, o); 5. Patient (c, q); 6. Struck (b, k); 7. Paw (i, j); 8. Rocks (g, p); 9. Cold (d, n)