Paraprosdokians (or puns)

 

A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is unexpected and often humorous. A somewhat related word is lexophilia, which means a form of addiction describing those who are obsessively enamoured of words, especially those set in a new framework. Lexophiles tend to like paraprosdokians. Paraprosdokians sometimes descend into being mere puns or, alternatively, aphorisms.

Submitted by Brian McLean
  1. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.
  2. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
  3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
  4. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.
  5. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.
  6. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.
  7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
  9. I didn't say it was your fault. I said I was blaming you.
  10. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
  11. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR'.
  12. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
  13. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a mechanic.
  14. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's getting harder and harder for me to find one now.
  15. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.
  16. You're never too old to learn something stupid.
Submitted by Dawn Mack
  1. You don't stop laughing when you grow old. Rather, you grow old when you stop laughing!
  2. Frustration is trying to find your glasses without your glasses.
  3. If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it’s that stupidity travels faster than any virus on the planet.
Submitted by Graeme Russell
  1. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
  2. Police were summoned to a day care centre where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
  3. He had a photographic memory but it was never fully developed.
  4. A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.
  5. I know a guy who's addicted to drinking brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.
  6. A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
  7. When she saw her first strands of grey hair she thought she'd dye.
  8. I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.
  9. I changed my iPod's name to Titanic. It's syncing now.
  10. With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
  11. Acupuncture is a jab well done. That's the point of it.
  12. When the smog lifts in Los Angeles U.C.L.A.
  13. I got some batteries that were given out free of charge.
  14. To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
  15. You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish.
  16. I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.
  17. Did you hear about the crossed-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?
  18. If you don’t pay your exorcist you can get re-possessed.
  19. Did you hear about the fellow whose entire left side was cut off? He’s all right now.
  20. She said that she recognised me from the Vegetarians’ Club, but I’d swear I’ve never met herbivore.
Submitted by Jan Bauer
  1. If I had a dollar for every girl that found me unattractive, they would eventually find me attractive.
  2. Today a man knocked on my door and asked for a small donation toward the local swimming pool. I gave him a glass of water.
  3. Relationships are a lot like algebra. Have you ever looked at your X and wondered Y?
  4. I think my neighbour is stalking me as she's been googling my name on her computer. I saw it through my telescope last night.
  5. You know that tingly feeling you get when you're attracted to someone? That's your common sense leaving your body.
  6. A recent study has found that women who carry a little extra weight, live longer than the men who mention it.
  7. I just read that 4,153,237 people got married last year; not to cause any trouble but shouldn't that be an even number?
  8. I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
  9. When wearing a bikini, women reveal 90 % of their body. Men are so polite that they only look at the covered parts.
  10. If you think nobody cares whether you're dead or alive, try missing a couple of payments.
  11. Money talks … but all mine ever says is good-bye.
  12. My therapist says I have a preoccupation with vengeance. We'll see about that.
  13. You're not fat, you're just … easier to see.
Submitted by John Baird
  1. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.
  2. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
  3. Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.
  4. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
  5. The last thing I want to do is hurt you …but it’s still on my list.
  6. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
  7. I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
  8. You’re never too old to learn something stupid.
  9. Apparently you can’t use ‘beefstew’ as a password. It’s not stroganoff.
  10. We never really grow up — we only learn how to act in public.
Submitted by John Baird and Terry Ball
  1. I had my patience tested. I’m negative.
  2. The older I get, the earlier it gets late.
  3. If you're sitting in public and a stranger takes the seat next to you, just stare straight ahead and say, "did you bring the money?"
  4. It's the start of a brand new day, and I'm off like a herd of turtles.
  5. I hate when a couple argues in public, and I missed the beginning and don't know whose side I'm on.
  6. When someone asks what I did over the weekend, I squint and ask, "Why, what did you hear?"
  7. I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days, but whatever.
  8. I run like the winded.
  9. Age 60 might be the new 40, but 9pm is the new midnight.
  10. To me, "drink responsibly" means don't spill it.
  11. I don't mean to interrupt people. I just, randomly, remember things and get really excited.
  12. I remember being able to get up without making sound effects.
  13. Don't bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That'll freak you right out.
  14. The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.
  15. When I say, 'the other day', I could be referring to any time between yesterday and 15 years ago.
Submitted by Terry Hearity
  1. What's the difference between a hippo and a zippo? One is really heavy and the other is a little lighter.
  2. I saw an ad for burial plots, and I thought: “That’s the last thing I need!
  3. Two windmills are standing in a wind farm. One asks, “What’s your favourite kind of music?” The other says, “I’m a big metal fan.“
  4. I wasn’t originally going to get a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind.
  5. I have a few jokes about unemployed people, but none of them work.
  6. How do you make holy water? You boil the hell out of it.
  7. I tried to sue the airline for losing my luggage. I lost my case.
  8. When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
  9. How does an attorney sleep? First he lies on one side, then he lies on the other side.
From the Indian Hills Community Centre via Terry Ball
  1. Water is heavier than butane because butane is a lighter liquid.
  2. If you have to wear both a mask and glasses, then you may be entitled to condensation.
  3. When you teach a wolf to meditate, he becomes aware wolf.
  4. I’m going to start collecting highlighters. Mark my words!
From a Welsh Church newsletter via John Baird
  1. Those who jump off a bridge in Paris are in Seine.
  2. When two egotists meet, it’s an I for an I.
  3. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.
  4. Every calendar's days are numbered.
  5. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
  6. A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
  7. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
  8. When you ask me what I am doing today, and I say "nothing," it does not mean I am free. It means that I am doing nothing.
  9. Once you've seen one shopping centre, you've seen a mall.
  10. Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.
  11. And the Lord said unto John, "Come forth and you will receive eternal life." But John came fifth and won a toaster.
  12. I tried to catch fog yesterday. Mist.
  13. I, for one, like Roman numerals.
  14. You don’t need a parachute to go skydiving. You need a parachute to go skydiving twice.
  15. You can never lose a homing pigeon – if your homing pigeon doesn't come back, what you've lost is a pigeon.
  16. I have a step ladder because my real ladder left when I was a kid.
  17. Apparently, someone in London gets stabbed every 52 seconds. Poor devil.
  18. My wife accused me of being immature. I told her to get out of my fort.
  19. You know what they say about cliff hangers …
Submitted by others
  1. Andrew Leopold (who composed it himself): I'd give an arm and a leg to be able to run like Usain Bolt.
  2. Lyn Richards: I’m supposed to respect my elders, but now it's getting harder and harder for me to find one.
  3. Martin Winfield: I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous.