To my knowledge, a pun is a specific kind of wordplay hinged on a homophone/double-entendre (e.g., "What's black and white and re(a)d all over? A newspaper") or on multiple meanings of a word (e.g., "My car's not going to be ready until tomorrow; one of the mechanics sliced off the tips of his fingers, so now the shop's a little shorthanded").
Increasingly, though, I see people using "pun" as though it meant something like Lookit! I just referred to the topic at hand, or used a word that has something to do with it, or used a word to mean what it actually means. Examples from recent news articles (emphasis added; no relevant context omitted):
• It can be difficult for some players in the NFL to find their way, and such has been the case for Detroit’s Trinity Benson. His route has been unique, no pun intended. After all, Benson is a wide receiver. Undrafted out of East Central in 2019, Benson managed to stick around with the Denver Broncos for a couple of seasons.
• I supported Matt Mowers in the past, partly because he worked for the President of the United States and partly because I thought he had the backs of the hard working NH residents. The “truth” is Matt Mowers is being exposed as a light weight politician who thinks he can hide behind Chris Christie, no pun intended.
• Ah yes, the golden (no pun intended) formula of kicking your opponents while they’re down. Or in this case, when they are down a man. After what’s becoming an accustomed slow start for the Canucks, Vancouver actually managed to direct the first three shots on net, and in close vicinity to goaltender Robin Lehner […]
• Scientifically, though, the concept [of near-death experiences] is pretty ill-defined. (…) That’s why now, scientists from a wide range of disciplines have published a new consensus statement regarding the study of death. Published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, the paper is the first-ever peer-reviewed statement on the scientific study of death, and is designed to “provide insights into potential mechanisms, ethical implications, and methodologic considerations for systematic investigation” and “identify issues and controversies” in the research area. The statement comes at a critical (no pun intended) time, as “death” in the 21st century isn’t the same as death even a hundred years ago.
• Getting perhaps the most obvious comparison out of the way, the billionaire-by-day/superhero-by-night arc is a direct parallel between Moon Knight and the Dark Knight. Although Oscar Issac's Marc Spector is a timid, mild-mannered museum employee, the comics portrayed the character as a successful billionaire who moonlights (no pun intended) as a deadly mercenary.
• Famously, "The Crown" switches its lead star after every two seasons, and it's kind of a kingmaker, no pun intended. Claire Foy, who played the Queen in the first couple of seasons, successfully transitioned to the movies.
• It is worth noting that Fresh was not actually Daisy Edgar-Jones’ first taste (no pun intended, believe it or not) of the horror genre. In fact, she also crossed “science fiction/fantasy” off of her bucket list at the same time when she was cast on Epix’s modernized series adaptation of H.G. Wells’ revolutionary novel, The War of the Worlds, in 2019.
• Cowell, who’s probably best known for horrifying viewers with his various reality TV series, didn’t get his showbiz start in Sony’s musical dungeon. No, he got it suffering on the set of Kubrick’s legendary horror movie The Shining, where he was apparently responsible for polishing Jack Nicholson’s axe (no pun intended).
• Gov. Brad Little vetoed HB723 which funded schools based on enrollment rather than attendance. Even though he said he is willing to look at the data in the upcoming year and would be willing to reinstate attendance funding, I have little faith (no pun intended) that this will amount to anything more than fluffy words to ease the apprehensions of voters. Given that this is an election year, I suspect that this is the true motivation behind Superintendent Ybarra’s and President Liebich’s optimism.
• Whether you’re wanting to hit mile-long bombs off the tee or need a new pair of FootJoy Tour 360 Golf Shoes, you can find all Masters-inspired merchandise right here. Oh, and if you’ve always dreamed about winning the Masters green jacket, you’ve struck gold – no pun intended.
I'm two shy of a dozen examples here, and their various other errors didn't irritate me as much as no pun in ten did!
Am I being unduly narrow and prescriptive? Or should I file this alongside "nukular" and "I could care less" and suchlike?
