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Zeugmatic pun

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A rhetorical pun where one word governs two others in different senses, creating witty ambiguity or layered meaning.

Detailed Definition
A zeugmatic pun exploits zeugma—a figure where one word governs two or more others in different senses—to create witty, often humorous ambiguity; for example, “She broke his car and his heart,” where “broke” operates literally and metaphorically, showcasing linguistic dexterity.
Example
Example in poetry:
Zeugmatic pun: “He lost his coat and his temper at the party” (Here, “lost” governs both “coat” [literal] and “temper” [figurative], creating a zeugma that also functions as a pun through dual meanings of “lost.”)
Additional Notes
Pun created through zeugma, where one word governs multiple objects in different senses. Related to Zeugmatic shift. Example: "He took his hat and his leave." Creates wit through grammatical compression and semantic surprise.
Also Known As
Sylleptic wordplay Dual-meaning pun Yoking jest Double-duty humor
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