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If you’ve been on Twitter today, it may have come to your attention that it is UK Pun Day. This is an excuse for all manner of groan inducing puns. Punning is something we all like to do sometime. There’s no shame in it. It makes people smile and can become a group activity when other people try and find more puns. Remember the bit in The Office when Gareth reports to David Brent that Tim has put his stapler inside jelly? Rather than treat it as a disciplinary matter, they made light of it as a “trifling matter” and said they should “put him in custardy”. Perhaps The Office as the archetypal cringeathon is not the best example of a healthy work environment or normal social behaviour, but nevertheless, punning brings people together and is cringy in the best way.
To mark UK pun day, we would like to bring to your attention Nabhan Al Abdullatif, a punny designer and illustrator who has made a charming set of images with just the right groan factor. Some puns work well across the gap between the visual and the verbal, with homonyms and synonyms lighting up the recognition centres in your mind. With cheeky, playful characters and charming scenes showing all sorts of puns and quips, it is sure to raise a smile or at least a cynical eyebrow. Hopefully it will inspire you to mark the occasion (with a pencil) by making your own puntastic drawings. As I was staring at the ceiling last night in frustrating sleeplessness, I might draw two rubber rings with little faces yawning and write underneath “I’m two tyred for this today, I’m feeling deflated.” With an air pump full of my third cup of coffee of the day in the background. Hmm. Sorry. Best leave it to the professionals, but then everyone is entitled to have a go at making puns, today of all days. Pun day I will be free! Right, enough. Here are the drawings…
To see more from Nabhan, head on over to Instagram.
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