Who taught : Andrew, Jake, Stan, Carol and Pat

First of all, you should read today’s post really carefully because it is hard for non-native English speakers to understand.

One day, Andrew wanted to ask a question to Jean. He said, “Jean, can I interrupt you for a sec?” As soon as she heard the question, Jean said, “Oh, I have not started my flow yet.” Following Jean’s answer, there was a pause for a few seconds because they all did not know what to say. Do you know why? Well, when Jean said it, she meant her work flow. She was saying that she did not really get into a specific work now so that Andrew can ask the question to her. But, the sentence Jean used has a different meaning for women.

It could mean that a woman is not having her period yet even though it is about the time that she is supposed to have menstruation. Similar expression is “shark week.” So, if any woman says that “it is my shark week,” then you should be careful. Although I doubt any woman would say that to you if you are a guy unless you are her husband or something. So, basically this kind of expression is called “PUN.”

The official definition of PUN is :

a clever and amusing use of a word or phrase with two meanings, or of words with the same sound but different meanings.

pun cartoon

There is a story Andrew told me today which is another perfect example of PUN.

When he was young, his father was coaching basketball in a school. Whenever there is a practice, they were using balls owned by Andrew’s father. The practice was done in a court where all of the other students were also using. One day, the practice was done and his father was talking to the students. But then, his mother realized that there were some missing balls. She looked around to find them but was not able to find them. So, she thought that maybe the other students were using a few of her missing balls. To make sure, she approached the male students who were practicing in the court and asked, “Hey boys! Have you seen balls with Cox on them?” Do you get it? Well, if you are native English speakers, I am sure you get it. But I am also almost 100% sure you would not get it if you are non-native English speakers. So, Andrew’s last name is Cox and of course his father wrote down his last name on the balls. “Cox” on the balls! Now, pronounce “Cox”! Can you feel it? What? you can’t… OK, here is the thing! There is a word which has very similar pronunciation but different meaning. It is “Cock.” Well, the word usually means rooster. But for some reason, it also means penis. Again, I became so curious why people decided to use the word, cock, to mean penis. Here is what I found from the WikiAnswer.

A penis is called a cock because it is said to resemble a bird, and because the rooster is a symbol of masculinity in some cultures. Similarly, in Spanish a penis is commonly called a pajaro (bird), a pavo (turkey), or a polla (chicken). Perhaps the most bird-like penises are those that tend to tilt or curve slightly southward when erect (similar to the natural curvature of a rooster neck and head), the pubic hair at the base of the penis could also be said to resemble the ring or collar of feathers displayed by some roosters. The large wattles (i.e. the fleshy sack) that form on both turkeys and some roosters can also be said to resemble a man’s scrotum.

Isn’t it very interesting to know the origin?

Can you now understand why the sentence that Andrew’s mother used to the boys would be so funny? Yeah, that is right. They would be thinking like, “Well…. I think I have seen them but should I show them to you right now?”, in their minds. (You know, they are all boys and it is not a surprise that they have balls and Cocks.)

What a funny thing to learn, PUN! Well, there is another story related with PUN. I will amuse you with that later. 🙂