RHYS BOWEN:
Puns—you either love them or hate them! I have to confess I’m a big fan. When I was growing up my best friend’s mother was the queen of puns. Ask her any question and you usually got a pun in reply.
“Is it breakfast time yet?”
“Eggs-actly.”
Of course we would groan which only encouraged her to make more and worse puns. I think that was my only experience until suddenly the concept of punning caught on in my village. First the butcher put up “Happy to Meat You” over his shop, then the fishmonger next door replied with, “If you want fish, this is the plaice.” And the coal merchant was not to be outdone with “One good ton deserves another.” Even the barber became “A Cut Above.”
It was the same with book titles. When I read mysteries as a young person they all had titles like “Murder at the Vicarage, Death of a Peer, Death in the Air, On the Links etc.”
Maybe in the mid nineties puns started to appear in the titles of cozy mysteries. I believe Tamar Myers was one of the first.—Mean and Shellfish, Puddin’ on the Blitz, Tea with Jam and Dread.
Of course I added to the trend with Evans Above, Evan Help Us etc. Sorry.
Now they are everywhere: for a while you couldn’t find a cozy mystery without a pun in the title. Grime and Punishment, Absence of Mallets, The Grim Reader (thanks to Kate Carlisle) For Batter or Worse (Thanks to our Jenn) Devonshire Scream , Shades of Earl Grey (Laura Childs). And Lucy’s, of course!(A Scone of Contention.)
However, when I checked the bestseller lists today on Amazon I see that we have reverted to former cozy titles. Death in the Village, At the Manor House, At the Seaside etc etc. So… do you think the age of puns is over? Have we run out of puns? Or is this part of the bigger picture? Is the cozy mystery—the true cozy with tea shops and cats, now in decline? What do you think?
And before I go I have to share one of my favorite puns:
It’s a WWII story, naturally! A train is going through wartime Poland. The blackout is in effect so it’s hard to know which station is which and it’s even harder to find fuel to keep steam trains going. But they know if they can make it all the way to Danzig there will be a supply of coal waiting. The engine driver becomes confused as to which station is next and as they pull up to a platform he calls out to a porter standing there:
“Is this Warsaw?”
“No,” replies the man. “It’s Danzig in the dark.”
Which makes the engineer shout out “Danzig in the dark? Buy coal, porter!”
Sorry if you hate puns! Let me know if you love them. And right now we need any sliver of humor we can get. Have you a good one to share?
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Ha! Good one! Oh, I am not sure about puns titles. I love them in real life, sometimes they are so funny and multi-layered that I laugh and laugh. (And I think I am hilarious, but sometimes I am (somehow) the only one laughing. )
But some of the cozy mystery pun titles, I have to tell you, I just don’t understand. I think–what’s supposed to be funny about that? And I always feel baffled by it.
But I guess one of my favorites is with Mr. and Mrs. Clause, at the North Pole.
Santa Claus comes in and says to his wife, “Oh no! I’m not sure what the weather will be for Christmas, whether it’ll be rain or snow, and I am worried.”
His wife says, “Why don’t you go ask Rudolph?”
And Santa says. “Why would I ask Rudolph?
And Mrs. Claus says “Because Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.”
Or something like that. I can never tell jokes.
Which leads me to ask: does Mrs. Claus have a first name? Topic for another time.)
LUCY BURDETTE: I’m neutral on the subject though I like your jokes, ladies! Of course, being on the cozy end of the mystery spectrum, I’ve had to fight off some of the worst punny titles. I can live with, even appreciate, puns, but not sheer silliness. Somehow, it feels like those belittle the books. My first mystery ever, in the golf lovers’ series had an excellent title: SIX STROKES UNDER.
When I hear the question about whether cozies have gone out of fashion, I just have to sigh. Don’t you think half the predictions in the publishing business are manufactured? There will always be readers who adore cozies, especially when the world seems to be imploding, and others who prefer to read on the dark side. Always.
End of rant. Speaking of titles, I know very soon my editor will be asking for ideas for my WIP, fondly called the Scone Sisters mystery. I have NOTHING this time, so send on your puns!
HALLIE EPHRON: So clever!
My husband was a genius when it came to creating visual puns, so while I had never appreciated punny lines, I cherish the cartoons he embedded them in.
Here’s an example… I’m guessing this coincided with a few unwanted guests in the house.
JENN McKINLAY: That’s hilarious, Hallie!
I’m a fan of puns. As Hank said, the best ones are multi-layered. I’m still bitter that my publisher discarded the title The Baking Dead for my cupcake bakery mystery set amid a zombie walk. It’s only been eight years. I’m sure I’ll get over it…eventually.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: Jenn, I LOVE The Baking Dead! How could they not use it!
Jerry's cartoons are such treasures, Hallie.
I do like puns even though I'm not very good at them. One of our local restaurants uses outrageous puns in their menus and newsletters and they always give me a good chuckle. The current menu features Everyone Loves Rellenos (chili rellenos, obviously) and Release the Quack-en for their citrus brined duck. (Their food is really good, too!)
RHYS: So what about you--who loves puns, who hates them? Any good ones to share?
