appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Charmaine Chan

Away With Words
by Joe Berkowitz
Harper Perennial
A great pun “is its own reword”. A mediocre one is just “awkword”. You have to be in the mood for Away With Words, which mixes dad jokes with the try-hard and the exceptional. Joe Berkowitz introduces readers to competitions such as the O. Henry Pun Off and Punderdome, where contes­tants are judged by audience applause, and demon­strates English’s range of puns. We hear of people such as Atilla the Pun and Groan Up, and panic with the author as he attempts to extemporise on the category of medicine. “I kind of lipo-suck at puns,” he offers, attracting chortles. To some, however, punning is no laughing matter, and there’s even a German word (witzelsucht, “addiction to wise­cracking”) to describe a punning disease that can afflict victims of stroke or some other kind of brain damage. Others, including linguists, see wordplay as a sign of intelligence.


Away With Words will give pun lovers a rewording experience

Joe Berkowitz introduces us to the world of competitive punning, where dad jokes rub shoulders with the truly exceptional.

Clever wordplay skewers modern manners and obsessions

Lost for Words

Magazines

PostMag

Culture

Books

Joe Berkowitz introduces us to the world of competitive punning, where dad jokes rub shoulders with the truly exceptional.


An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Joe Berkowitz introduces us to the world of competitive punning, where dad jokes rub shoulders with the truly exceptional.

Joe Berkowitz introduces us to the world of competitive punning, where dad jokes rub shoulders with the truly exceptional.