Explorations

I’m not someone who loves puns. I think….

It’s a very delicate balance for me. See I enjoy puns when I don’t expect them, when they take me by surprise, when they carefully flirt with being clever. I don’t enjoy puns when they simply play on words, or are trying to be cute or clever. Accidental versus Overt….

Case in point: A Lot of Cars

This is a prime example of a good pun. A Lot of Cars is a used auto dealer in the North end of Durham by Duke University. They have over 37 cars for sale(sounds like a large volume) and they’re all parked in a lot(…you might say a parking lot).

I won’t lie to you, I think this is brilliant. I’m laughing now even as I type this blog post. A Used Car dealer with a sense of humor?! These are the kind of people that I can respect. I wouldn’t know from personal experience, but I can imagine selling used cars in a largely Spanish and blue collar section of town to not be a laugh-a-minute type of job. That’s why this is so surprising. And funny. They’re not trying to be clever… 

Or at least if they are, they’ve done it subtly and don’t expect to be congratulated for their wit.

And then we have DietTribe. 

DietTribe is a new LifeTime network reality show that follows a group of five best friends in their collective struggle to lose weight and get fit. Hmmm, a group of friends(dare we say, a tribe?) and they’re all dieting(…dieting). But this really irks me, diettribe isn’t even a word! Thats ridiculous! A diatribe(which is a REAL word) is a bitter, sharply abusive denunciation, attack, or criticism…which does not sound like a group of friends losing weight. After a little research the word ’diettribe’  according to unword.com is  an irate sermon or lecture on healthy eating. UNWORD.COM? Also ridiculous! 

Ugh. Really? DietTribe? I’m not against people trying to get fit. But this is honestly the most worst pun. And given it refers to a reality television and the LifeTime network, I think the phrase “Worst Pun Ever” might be fitting… It’s so obvious and heavy handed. I can’t even appreciate it’s wit. It’s too cute and clever and I’m sure whoever thought this gem up is mighty proud of themselves. Eww. This is just so iconically the worst type of pun, and a pun for all the wrong reasons. 

Thumbs up ‘A Lot of Cars’. Thumbs down ‘DietTribe’. Thumbs way down ‘Unword.com’