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#12128 12/06/00 03:08 PM
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Years ago (college days) a friend told me there was only one pun composed of three separate words in a row, each of which was a homonym. Here's how it goes:

With part of their inheritance, three brothers bought a ranch. Their father (who had given them some of it, though not all - his name wasn't Lear), came on a visit, and asked them what they had decided to call it.

"Focus," said the eldest.

"Why?" asked Dad.

"Because that's where the sons raise meat." was the reply.



I have toyed with this idea for years, but have never been able to come up with something at all, let alone anything quite so neat. Do any of you know better? Or can you invent one that works? Anyone up for a four-in-pun?

cheer

the sunshine warrior


#12129 12/06/00 06:18 PM
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There was a construction worker whose name was Jack. His latest contract was to move a house from one lot to another
one, a few streets ahead. He was just starting to explain to the owner how he would be lifting the house to get it on the trailer, when his wife called out, "Yoo-hoo Jack".






#12130 12/07/00 02:29 AM
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Shanks:

Believe it or not, when I saw the name of your thread I knew what the pun was!!

Isaac Asimov, who was an inveterate punster, said this was the most perfect example of a pun in the English language. I don not recall, but something in the back of my mind tells me he devised it.

And I read Jackie's post infra and I will admit openly that if there's a triple pun there I do not get it. At all.



TEd
#12131 12/07/00 03:01 AM
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I like the sons-raise-meat triple pun, but the gloss went off it later when I was thinking about the expression "raise meat". I don't think farmers do that at all - they raise animals for their meat. Makes the pun just a little strained.

I had the same initial reaction as you, TEd, about Jackie's pun, but I think it just about qualifies if you allow "yoo hoo" to be two separate words. In one sense she is yoo-hooing to her husband Jack, and in the other she is calling out "[Hey!] You who jack [houses]!". Or something like that.


#12132 12/07/00 04:16 AM
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There's the old one about the girl looking forward to her wedding day. What was she thinking?

Aisle, altar, hymn.


#12133 12/07/00 05:04 AM
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>Anyone up for a four-in-pun?

OK, he says, rolling up his sleeves and hunching over his typewriter...

In 1968, the northern Punjab was in the grip of a severe drought. For months, temperatures had hovered around 40C. The rivers and dams had all dried up, crops had failed and things were looking really grim.

In desperation the local government called Sir Sunil Gupta, known primarily for his spice empire, but also making a name for himself as a driller for subterranean water. They hoped that he would be able to provide a reliable source of water to last for generations. Sir Sunil duly arrived with his team and drilling rig, but the high temperatures led to repeated equipment failure. After some weeks of frustration, there was an unseasonally cold snap one evening which allowed him to made good headway.

The next morning the local newspaper proclaimed:

CHILI KNIGHT AUGERS WELL FOR THE FUTURE.

(Did that sound too Jazzoctopesque?)


#12134 12/07/00 09:02 AM
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shanks Offline OP
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Marty

You take the palm! I think (though I might never be able to remember it well enough to repeat it), that this is the best shaggy-dog pun-ending story yet. Nice work.

Regarding Jackie's work, I'm beginning to wonder if there is such a thing as a "U-hu" jack that is used in construction. Where is the Queen of the Gutter when you need her?


#12135 12/07/00 12:24 PM
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>You take the palm! I think

I told this one before, but not in a contest for a palm.

When I was in Europe on a cycling adventure, I found myself at Dover on a Sunday evening, booked on the ferry to Ostende. The trip was very rough and I became quite seasick, but recovered in the beautiful daylight of a crisp fall day. Rejoicing, I sent a cable to my father: Sick transit, glorious Monday.

Not only is it a fourplex pun, but it's bilingual as well. Or does bilingual mean speaking with a forked tongue??



TEd
#12136 12/07/00 01:24 PM
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Sister Angeletta was the nicest teacher in the whole school.
Besides her classroom duties, she coached the baseball team.
This was ideal for her, as she had an unusually deep voice that carried well into the outfield. When the catcher asked her to stitch up the hole in home plate, there was
none so bass.


#12137 12/07/00 02:28 PM
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Jackie, I think you're getting there - at least you have three working homophones in a row. It's possible, however, that the syntax may have to improve so that 'nun sew base' begins to sound more correct. I suspect you will soon have that sorted.

TEd, I like the fourplex pun, particularly given the bilingual approach. But isn't it gloria in the Latin? Notice how the dark and stormy night (oops, chilly night) relied upon perfect homophones, as did the original ranch story.

I tell you what, even if we don't yet award you two the palms, I certainly think half a palm each is warranted. (What is the sound of half a palm flapping?) I certainly have never been able to do as well as you have...


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