We are back with a second edition of Pun Fun, the exciting new feature where I give you a theme and you adapt the title of a well-known song to reflect that theme. Anyone who missed the first edition can find the results here.
But before we reveal the new theme a sharp-eyed reader has spotted a possible elephant in the room. They asked whether your fine efforts can technically be described as puns. The possibility that they can't worried me because, frankly, "Adapting the Title of a Well-Known Song to Reflect a Theme Fun" is a much less catchy title.
So I dug out the Oxford English Dictionary, which knows a thing or two about this sort of stuff. It defines a pun as "the use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more meanings or different associations, or of two or more words of the same or nearly the same sound with different meanings, so as to produce a humorous effect".
It may be stretching it a bit, particularly for some entries, but I reckon the underlined words mean we just sneak in. Any English teachers out there are welcome to comment, but only if they agree with me.
With that out of the way, welcome to Fun Pun 2! After doing sports and sporting equipment last month we are keeping things healthy. Inspired by a visit to the London Fruit Exchange - I went in with an orange and came out with a banana - the new theme is:
FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
The rules are the same as last time. You each have one entry only (not five a day please). Entries should be sent to leggies27@hotmail.co.uk by Saturday 6 December. Voting will start next Monday.
I look forward to hearing from all the founder members and hopefully some new faces as well - such as The Swede, who would seem to have an inbuilt advantage on this particular theme.
To warm you up here are three songs that are definitely about fruit and vegetables and could not in any way be deemed examples of "prurient puns" (Tobias Smollett, 1746, cited in the OED).
Happy punning!
"The Green Pumpkin" - S.E. Rogie
"The Plum" - Lord Melody
"Don't Touch Me Tomato" - Josephine Baker
