Ambiguity and Puns

AMBIGUITY PARADOX: “Everything is ambiguous; however, nothing is ambiguous.”

Almost all words, phrases, and even sentences are ambiguous, if they are not seen or heard in the larger context. However, the larger context (both linguistic and non-linguistic) resolves almost all of the ambiguities--Except when the speaker is intentionally trying to be ambiguous, as with linguists and politicians. Jacob Mey goes on to say that in real life, there is no such thing as ambiguity—excepting in certain, rather special occasions, in which one tries to deceive one’s partner, or “keep the door open” to more than one interpretation. This happens when we are trying to figure out a social situation. It also happens when we are teasing or trying to seduce someone.

Here are two examples of syntactic ambiguity:

Flying planes can be dangerous.

The missionaries are ready to eat.

Here are two riddles based on ambituigy and puns:

When is a door not a door any more?

When it's ajar.

When is a car on the road in front of your house not a car any more?

When it turns into your driveway.

Here are some examples of lexical ambiguity and punning:

.. you can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish,

.. Writing with a broken pencil is pointless. .. When fish are in schools, they sometimes take debate.

.. A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

.. When the smog lifts in Los Angeles U.C.L.A.

.. The batteries were given out free of charge. .. A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.

.. With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress. .. A boiled egg is hard to beat.

.. When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall. .. Police were summoned to a daycare center where a three-year-old was resisting a rest. .. Did you hear about the fellow whose entire left side was cut off? He's all right now. .. A bicycle can't stand alone; it's just two tired. .. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

.. The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine is now fully recovered. .. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

.. When she saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she'd dye. .. Acupuncture is a jab well done. That's the point of it. .. Those who get too big for their pants will be totally exposed in the end.

.. A will is a dead giveaway.

“AI can make you laugh. But can it ever be truly humorous?”

by Jyoti Madhusoolanan”

https://undark.org/2025/07/21/ai-humor/

“Can AI essay writers understand satire, irony, or sarcasm in essays?”

by Daniel Felix

https://www.yomu.ai/resources/can-ai-essay-writers-understand-satire-irony-or-sarcasm-in-essays

International Society for Humor Studies: http://www.humorstudies.org/

Nilsen, Alleen and Don. The Language of Humor: An Introduction. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2019. www.cambridge.org/core/books/language-of-humor/B37E80D6A21DB3A2E344A4061D996D9C