Editing Word play (section)

== Techniques ==
{{Expand section|date=January 2010}}
;[[Tom Swifties]]: A form of humorous writing where adverbs are chosen to reflect the nature of the situation in a [[pun]]ning way. "Hurry up and get to the back of the ship", Tom said [[stern]]ly.
;[[Wellerism]]s: Using [[Fossilization (linguistics)|linguistic fossils]] and [[set phrase]]s. Example: "We'll have to rehearse that", said the undertaker as the coffin fell out of the car.
:[[Unpaired word]]s: Deliberate use of unusual or obsolete antonyms, such as "I was well-coiffed and sheveled", ([[back-formation]] from "disheveled").
;[[Spoonerism]]: An accidental and often humorous transposition of initial letters or sounds, such as "a flock of bats" instead of "a block of flats" or "a bunny phone" instead of "a funny bone".
;[[Malapropism]]: Replacing a word with a different word that sounds similar, either unintentionally or for comedic effect. For example, saying "He is the very pineapple of politeness." instead of ''pinnacle''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sheriden |first=Richard |title=The Rivals |publisher=Dover |year=1998}}</ref>
;[[Anthimeria]]: Altering a word's regular part of speech. This can occur naturally with the evolution of a language, but can also be done for emphasis or comedic effect. For example, saying "The thunder would not peace at my bidding." using the noun ''peace'' as a verb,<ref>Shakespeare, William. ''King Lear''. Dover, 1994.</ref> or "The little old lady turtled across the street."
;[[Double entendre]]: Words or phrases with multiple meanings are used ambiguously with a humorous or sexual (or both) result. For example, Mae West's "Marriage is a fine institution, but I'm not ready for an institution."<ref>Byrne, Robert. ''The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said''. Touchstone, 2003.</ref> and the Groucho Marx line "If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?"<ref>''You Bet Your Life''. Created by John Guedel. John Guedel Productions, 1950.</ref>
;[[Portmanteau]]: Combining two words to create a new word, such as ''smoke'' and ''fog'' to make ''smog''.