Irony & Sarcasm

Irony must not be confused with sarcasm, which is direct: Sarcasm means precisely what it says, but in a sharp, bitter, cutting, caustic, or acerb manner; it is the instrument of indignation, a weapon of offense, whereas irony is one of the vehicles of wit.

Pun

Pun is a play on words, either on different senses of the same word or on the similar sense or sound of different words (also known as paronomasia). Classical rhetoricians favored the important-sounding term paronomasia--playing on the sounds and meanings of words. Linguists refer to them as homophones--different words that are pronounced the same way (not weigh). And psychologists use phrases like ambiguity resolution and bistable illusion.

We simply call them puns. And whether or not you're a fan of word play, puns are inescapable. We can find a lot of them in our every day life, for instance, a liquor store named Boo's, a clothing shop called Knit Wit.

e.g.: American Hair Force (hair salon in Elk Grove, California)

Combing Attractions Hair Salon (Janesville, Wisconsin)

Curl Up and Dye (hair salon in Las Vegas, Nevada)

From Hair 2 Eternity (hair salon in New Baden, Illinois)

Hair Me Out (hair salon in San Francisco, California)

Julius Scissor Hair Design (hair salon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

We're Hair (hair salon in West Warwick, Rhode Island)

Bar Humbug (bar and restaurant in Bristol, England)

Booze Brothers Off License (Preston, England)

Brews Brothers (bar and night club in Pittston, Pennsylvania)

Pour Judgment (bar in Newport, Rhode Island)

Tequila Mockingbird Mexican Bar and Grill (Ocean City, Maryland)

U Otter Stop Inn (bar in Minneapolis, Minnesota)

What Ales You (bar in Burlington, Vermont)

Bean & Gone Café (Auckland, New Zealand)

The Contented Sole (seafood restaurant in West Palm Beach, Florida)

C U Latte (coffee shop in Brisbane, Australia)

Custard's Last Stand (ice cream shop in Boulder Dam, Nevada)

Eat Must Be First (Chinese restaurant in Baltimore, Maryland)

Edible Complex (restaurant in Portland, Oregon)

Espresso Yourself (coffee shop in Newport, Pennsylvania)

Fish-cotheque (fish & chips shop in London)

For Cod's Sake (fish & chips shop in Cheltenham, England)

Franks A Lot (restaurant in East Dundee, Illinois)

Ho-Lee-Chow (Chinese restaurant in Toronto, Canada)

Jamaican Me Hungry (restaurant in Key West, Florida)

Just the Plaice (fish & chips shop in Swanage, England)

Lettuce Souprise You (restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia)

Marquis de Salade (restaurant in Budapest, Hungary)

Men At Wok (Chinese restaurant in Williston, Vermont)

Mustard's Last Stand (restaurant in Melbourne, Florida)

Plaice T Meat (fish & chips shop in Scunthorpe, England)

Prawn Broker Restaurant (Fort Myers, Florida)

Syriandipity (Syrian restaurant in Toronto, Canada) pronounced the same way as serendipity - щаслива здатність до відкриттів; інтуїтивна прозорливість

Thanks A Latte (coffee shop in North Highlands, California)

Wiener Take All (restaurant in Buffalo Grove, Illinois)

Examples of jokes with play of words: