Tom Swifties!
(A.k.a. Adverbial Puns)
A sentence ending with an adverb ending in -ly that creates humor via a play on words. The adverb provides the Punchline.
End a sentence with an adverb ending in -ly that creates a wordplay on the rest of the sentence. The sentence is the Setup; and the -ly adverb is the Punchline.
Fill in the blanks:
“_____,” he said _____ly.
The first blank is a statement made by the speaker; and the second blank is an adverb ending in -ly which not only describes how the statement was said, but relates to what was said using a witty wordplay.
* “I have an idea,” beamed Edison brightly.
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb; and the cliché in cartoons is to have a light bulb appear over someone’s head when he has a “bright” idea. The adverb brightly can mean lots of light, as in with the aid of a light bulb, or cheerfully. Thus, the play on words. Same with the verb beam.
Although deemed Adverbial Puns, Tom Swifties can be created with other words instead, like clever verbs, nouns, or adjectives. Same format: Start with a statement and end with a word that fits the sentence structure, but still creates a wordplay.
* “Turns out we have only seven weeks left of school instead of eight,” the teacher recounted.
The verb recount means to tell a story or to count again.
* “Don’t worry woman, I’ll put you back together,” was his reassuring rejoinder.
The noun rejoinder sounds like the phrase “rejoined her”.
* “I go great with ketchup and mustard,” said the hot dog being frank.
The adjective frank means forthright, but being short for frankfurter, frank is also another word for a hot dog.
Think of how words sound. Not just what they mean, but how they sound. Once you find a word that sounds like something different than itself, write the sentence (Setup) to support that word being the Punchline. And, of course, put the Punchline at the end.
Studying Tom Swifties will show you the various ways to construct them. Once you understand the concept, you should be able to write Tom Swifties swiftly.
* “Make adverbial puns,” said Tom swiftly.
I figured out a new way to write Tom Swifties! You make both the verb for speaking and the adverb fit the situation to create a double whammy.
* “This is the best sports car for zooming down highways,” he expressed jaggedly. -- Expressed for expressway; and jaggedly for Jaguar.
* “My car doesn’t even have a ding,” he buffed recklessly. -- Buffed for removing dings; and recklessly for having less, or no, wrecks.
The best way to write these super fast is to Google an list of adverbs and write whatever funny ideas come to mind.
Although with a little practice, these become easier to write, don't overuse them. Use them every now and then to see if anyone catches them.
Blessings & Joy,
Dean Burkey
This post was adapted and excerpted from my book “How to Write All Kinds of Comedy Jokes!”
(A.k.a. Adverbial Puns)
A sentence ending with an adverb ending in -ly that creates humor via a play on words. The adverb provides the Punchline.
End a sentence with an adverb ending in -ly that creates a wordplay on the rest of the sentence. The sentence is the Setup; and the -ly adverb is the Punchline.
Fill in the blanks:
“_____,” he said _____ly.
The first blank is a statement made by the speaker; and the second blank is an adverb ending in -ly which not only describes how the statement was said, but relates to what was said using a witty wordplay.
* “I have an idea,” beamed Edison brightly.
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb; and the cliché in cartoons is to have a light bulb appear over someone’s head when he has a “bright” idea. The adverb brightly can mean lots of light, as in with the aid of a light bulb, or cheerfully. Thus, the play on words. Same with the verb beam.
Although deemed Adverbial Puns, Tom Swifties can be created with other words instead, like clever verbs, nouns, or adjectives. Same format: Start with a statement and end with a word that fits the sentence structure, but still creates a wordplay.
* “Turns out we have only seven weeks left of school instead of eight,” the teacher recounted.
The verb recount means to tell a story or to count again.
* “Don’t worry woman, I’ll put you back together,” was his reassuring rejoinder.
The noun rejoinder sounds like the phrase “rejoined her”.
* “I go great with ketchup and mustard,” said the hot dog being frank.
The adjective frank means forthright, but being short for frankfurter, frank is also another word for a hot dog.
Think of how words sound. Not just what they mean, but how they sound. Once you find a word that sounds like something different than itself, write the sentence (Setup) to support that word being the Punchline. And, of course, put the Punchline at the end.
Studying Tom Swifties will show you the various ways to construct them. Once you understand the concept, you should be able to write Tom Swifties swiftly.
* “Make adverbial puns,” said Tom swiftly.
I figured out a new way to write Tom Swifties! You make both the verb for speaking and the adverb fit the situation to create a double whammy.
* “This is the best sports car for zooming down highways,” he expressed jaggedly. -- Expressed for expressway; and jaggedly for Jaguar.
* “My car doesn’t even have a ding,” he buffed recklessly. -- Buffed for removing dings; and recklessly for having less, or no, wrecks.
The best way to write these super fast is to Google an list of adverbs and write whatever funny ideas come to mind.
Although with a little practice, these become easier to write, don't overuse them. Use them every now and then to see if anyone catches them.
Blessings & Joy,
Dean Burkey
This post was adapted and excerpted from my book “How to Write All Kinds of Comedy Jokes!”
No comments:
Post a Comment