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1[[quoteright:250:[[Film/SantasSlay https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1a470ced31e4337feb9813158baeb8c8.jpg]]]]
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6
7These works have titles [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin which are puns of some sort]]. The creators are probably slightly less proud of themselves than the creators of works with {{Double Meaning Title}}s. Or at least they ''should'' be. Like with the DoubleMeaningTitle, it's usually stubbornly resistant to translation to other languages, resulting in the need for a CompletelyDifferentTitle.
8
9Compare JustifiedTitle and PunnyName. IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming and MissXPun sometimes employs this. TranslationMatchmaking may also lead to a Pun-Based Title. See PopCulturePunEpisodeTitle when the pun is based on titles of other works. When the pun is based around a character's name, use the subtrope of EpunymousTitle.
10----
11!! Example subpages:
12[[index]]
13* PunBasedTitle/AnimeAndManga
14* PunBasedTitle/ComicBooks
15* [[PunBasedTitle/AnimatedFilms Film — Animated]]
16* [[PunBasedTitle/LiveActionFilms Film — Live-Action]]
17* PunBasedTitle/{{Literature}}
18* PunBasedTitle/LiveActionTV
19* PunBasedTitle/{{Music}}
20* PunBasedTitle/{{Theatre}}
21* PunBasedTitle/VideoGames
22* PunBasedTitle/WesternAnimation
23[[/index]]
24
25!!Other examples:
26[[foldercontrol]]
27
28[[folder:Asian Animation]]
29* ''Animation/BoonieBears'' has a set of seasons that are all themed around the four seasons. All but one of them have a pun in their titles:
30** Season 4 is titled ''Spring Into Action'', using the word "spring" to mean both the season known as spring and to jump or leap into action.
31** Season 5 is titled ''Snow Daze'', a pun on the term "snow days".
32** Season 6 is titled ''Sunsational Summer'', using a portmanteau of the words "sensational" and "sun".
33* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'':
34** The official English title of Season 8 episode 24 is "A Shocking Distance", referring to how the episode is about Big M. and Little M. being hit with a curse that causes them to be hit by lightning if they stand less than 99 feet from each other - you know, a "shocking" distance!
35** The English title of Season 8 episode 35 is "Villains Always Shine". The episode is about Big M. consuming luminescent mushrooms that make his tummy glow, in a literal variation on a villain always shining.
36* The ''Animation/{{Lamput}}'' episode title "Soccer Punch" is a pun on "sucker punch". The episode itself is about Lamput messing up a game of soccer that the docs are playing in.
37* The ''Animation/{{Mechamato}}'' episode title "Out of Cone-trol" is a {{portmanteau}} of "out of control" and "cone" referring to the episode's threat being cone creatures.
38* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'':
39** The season ''Marching to the New Wonderland'' includes the word "xīhā" in its Chinese title, meaning either "hahaha" or "hip-hop". This is a pun because the opening includes a hip-hop portion and the season itself is about Weslie's humorous adventures.
40** The season ''Man Jing Tou'' uses this. "Manjingtou" means "slow motion", but the first word "màn" (slow) is changed into the word "màn" as in "manhua".
41* ''Animation/StitchAndAi'' features [[Franchise/LiloAndStitch Stitch]] and a young Chinese girl named Ai, whose name is pronounced the same as the English letter and pronoun "I".
42[[/folder]]
43
44[[folder:Comic Strips]]
45* ''ComicStrip/MadamAndEve'' is named after the Biblical characters Adam and Eve, naturally.
46[[/folder]]
47
48[[folder:Fan Works]]
49* The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" does indeed {{ship|ping}} [[PortmanteauCoupleName TwiShy]].[[note]]Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy[[/note]]
50* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/19 The 63rd Rune]]'' does indeed involve RuleSixtyThree.
51* Chapter 10 of ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/260699 The Lawyer and the Unicorn,]]'' "The Two Powers", is not only a pun on ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers The Two Towers]]'' (the movie the group watches), but also refers to the two magic powers that are in play ([[Franchise/AceAttorney Kurain's]] and [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Equestria's]]).
52* Examples from [[Fanfic/Swing123AndGarfieldodiesCalvinverse the Calvinverse]]:
53** Chapter 13 of ''Fanfic/RetroChill'' is titled "[[Music/HerbieHancock "Feats Don't Fail Me Now."]]
54** ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' has the TwoPartEpisode "Alien Nation."[[note]]alienation[[/note]]
55* ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'' has Episode 12, called "Fade to Black" which focuses on the character of Mr. ''Black'', and Episode 13, "A Big Splash," which introduces ''Splash'' Woman.
56* ''Fanfic/LastRights'' is a play on "last rites" and "rights of the deceased" or some such.
57* ''Fanfic/LupineTree'' is a pun on ''pine tree'' and '''both''' definitions of ''lupine:'' a [[https://www.google.com/search?q=lupine&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=895&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9xp-V9s_JAhXGKyYKHS1fAhUQ_AUIBygB flowering plant]] that is similar to Jack's flowers, and wolves - fitting as Jack is a [[PlantPerson flowering, sapient timberwolf tree]].
58* ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone''.[[note]]The Cheese Stands Alone[[/note]] Also some of the chapter titles.
59* ''Fanfic/TriptychContinuum'': ''[[Recap/TriptychContinuumATotalEclipseOfTheFun A Total Eclipse of the Fun]]'': The title is a reference to "A Total Eclipse of the Sun", which is what happens in the story, repeatedly. But it's also about how making it happen, isn't exactly fun.
60* ''Fanfic/StoryShuffle'': [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/216813/13/story-shuffle/rock-on "Rock On"]]: A story about magic, music, MagicMusic, stones, and magic stones that relate to music.
61* ''Fanfic/SweetsClothing'''s title comes from the classic phrase "WolfInSheepsClothing", rethemed to fit [[WebAnimation/SpookyMonth Kevin]]'s job at the Candy Club and referencing him being a werewolf in the fic.
62* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27731518 Highbrow Humor]]'': In which [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Megatron]]'s eyebrows start floating off his forehead after he stabs himself with Dark Energon.
63* One chapter of ''Fanfic/JuniorOfficers'' is titled "A Pirate's Tail"; "tail" substituting for "tale".
64* ''Fanfic/InTentsLySick'' combines "intensely" with "tents", since it's a CampingEpisode.
65* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/46625476 Cure Wingman]]'' combines [[Anime/HirogaruSkyPrettyCure Cure Wing]]'s name with "wingman", since the fic is about Tsubasa wingmanning for Mashiro.
66* ''Fanfic/WeWontTellYouToHeel'' has a pun on "heel" and "heal".
67[[/folder]]
68
69[[folder:Pinball]]
70* ''Pinball/JackBot'' is a pun on "jackpot". This even extends to the actual jackpots, which are called "[[TitleDrop Jack*Bots]]."
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Podcasts]]
74* Some of the titles of the chapters of ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'' are based on puns.
75** The first Lunar Interlude is called "Moonlighting", which refers to the act of having a second job in secret, often at night. The interlude is about our heroes joining the Bureau of Balance, a secret organization stationed on a [[ThatsNoMoon false moon]].
76** "Petals to the Metal" is a play on the phrase "pedals to the metal". The arc involves drag-racing to beat an enemy with total command over nature, primarily plantlife.
77** "The Eleventh Hour" refers to the time period just before a pivotal, often catastrophic, moment. In this case it's much more literal -- Taako, Merle and Magnus end up stuck in Refuge, a town caught in a one hour-long time loop that starts at 11 AM (aka, the eleventh hour) and ends at noon, when a gigantic worm destroys the whole town.
78* The ''Podcast/TwilightHistories'' "Hannibal One" takes place in a world where Carthage won the Punic Wars and crushed Rome. Or to put it another way, in this universe, Hannibal Won.
79* The name of the Cordials of Kindness segment of ''Podcast/WereYouRaisedByWolves'' is a pun on the adjective meaning "showing warm and hearty friendliness" and the noun meaning "a stimulating drink," like a cocktail.
80[[/folder]]
81
82[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
83* The Frontier Wrestling Alliance show where Naomichi Marufuji and Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki came in to regain the GHC Heavyweight TagTeam Titles from Doug Williams and [[Wrestling/TooColdScorpio Scorpio]] was, in a reference to Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH, "NOAH Limits."[[/folder]]
84
85[[folder:Radio]]
86* Creator/TheBBC Radio 4 sitcom ''Beta Female'', about a young Asian-British woman, is a play on "alpha male", but also referring to "beta" as a Hindi term of affection for a young person.
87[[/folder]]
88
89[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
90* ''TabletopGame/CootieGames'': ''Ants in the Pants'', ''Don't Break the Ice'', and ''Don't Spill the Beans'' are all puns on American-English idioms[[note]]being antsy, getting to know someone, and giving away a secret, respectively[[/note]], but also depict the object of the game.
91[[/folder]]
92
93[[folder:Theme Parks]]
94* At Ride/UniversalStudios:
95** ''Ride/DoctorDoomsFearfall'' (fearfall = freefall)
96** ''Ride/MadagascarACrateAdventure'' (crate = great), which involves animals being shipped in crates.
97[[/folder]]
98
99[[folder:Visual Novels]]
100* ''VisualNovel/C14Dating'' is named after a method for determining the age of an archeological find, all while being a ''DatingSim'' set in a dig site.
101* The [[FictionalDocument fictional horror book]] ''Portrait of Markov'' in ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'', insofar as the title is intentionally based on ''Literature/APortraitOfMyDouble'' by Creator/GeorgiMarkov.
102* The one for ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' is hard to see. The protagonist has to do "double duty" with his sisters at home... while he's also in school.
103* ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'', a game based around dating [[CivilizedAnimal sapient pigeons]], is a play on "heartful" and the Japanese word for pigeon, ''hato''.
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Webcomics]]
107* ''Webcomic/AwkwardZombie'''s creator ''loves'' wordplay titles. The title of almost every strip in the comic is a pun of some sort.
108* ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily'' = all in the family + ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]''.
109* ''Webcomic/ClaudeAndMonet'', for obvious reasons.
110* ''{{Webcomic/Comc}}'' features an art style that doesn't show eyes. As such, it is an i-less comic, i.e. a com'c.
111** The pun extends to the word used for an individual strip - Com'c strips are officially dubbed "str'ps".
112* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' [[FunWithAcronyms abbreviates to]] [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the FAQ.
113* ''Webcomic/DorkTower'' is a play on the Creator/StephenKing novel series ''Literature/TheDarkTower''
114* ''Webcomic/HeroineChic'' is a play on the phrase "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin_chic heroin chic]]", a look popularized in the 90's that takes its name from the effects of heroin use on the body. "Heroine" (a female hero) and "heroin" (the drug) are homophones.
115* ''Webcomic/{{iToons}}'' combines this with DoubleMeaningTitle: it's both a pun on [=iTunes=] and a reference to the fact that it [[RemixComic presents imaginary strips from other comics]] (i.e. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_unit i]]Toons).
116* ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'' is a pun based on the expression "heaven and hell".
117* In ''Webcomic/Level30Psychiatry'', most of the strips have pun-based titles, one to the point that significant ones can be identified by the fact they don't.
118* Spoofed in ''Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella'', where every strip is given an intentionally horrible pun-based title.
119* ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'' is titled "ワンパンマン" in Japanese, which reads "wanpanman", which is a play on ''Literature/{{Anpanman}}'', which the series pokes fun of.
120* ''Webcomic/PartiallyClips'', whose title is pronounced the same as "partial eclipse".
121* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': Several of the page update link titles are puns based on what's happening on page, such as "[[https://unsoundedupdates.tumblr.com/post/668254687477268480/ch16-page-96 He Really Urned That Defeat]]" for chapter 16 page 96 in which [[spoiler:Glover gets crushed into the shape of a nearby urn while fighting a more powerful wright.]]
122* ''Webcomic/WarAndPeas'' plays on "war and peace".
123* Pretty much every single ''{{Webcomic/Whomp}}'' strip has a pun for a title, like "Push and Pool", "Tragic Carpet Ride" or "Booty Sleep".
124* ''Webcomic/WorkSucks'' follows the characters at their jobs that happen to involve a lot of monsters and gadgets that have [[VacuumMouth vacuum breath]].
125* ''Webcomic/YouveGottaBeKittenMe'' is a play on YouveGottaBeKiddingMe.
126* ''Webcomic/YuMeDream'', where the Japanese word for "dream" is ''yume''.
127** From the same author, ''Webcomic/MeatyYogurt'' needs to be spoken aloud with an American accent for the pun to be apparent.
128[[/folder]]
129
130[[folder:Web Original]]
131* In ''WebAnimation/AngelHare'', Gabby is, indeed, an angel who is a hare. "Angel ''hair''", besides a type of pasta, is another term for tinsel, probably the in-universe pun on the name. However, it's also an alleged sticky substance often seen around sightings of the Virgin Mary...or UFO encounters.
132* ''WebVideo/BaumgartnerRestoration'': Video titles are often crafted into puns, for example:
133** ''A Heady Proposition'': A painting of a severed head - revealed to be part of a depiction of Salome with the head of John the Baptist.
134** ''The Bold and Beeautiful'': A painting of a young lady wearing bee earrings.
135** ''A Project of Titanic Proportions'': A reverse-glass painting of the sinking of the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic.
136** ''Wood That It Were So Simple'': A challenging conservation of a painting whose wood panel has split.
137** ''Sea Change'': A painting of the sea whose varnish had yellowed over time, resulting in it looking like a completely different painting at the end.
138** A honorary mention goes to a canvas tote bag on the store christened the (sic) "tote ally awesome bag."
139* ''WebAnimation/CatsingCall'' is a cat-themed pun on "casting call."
140* The ''Podcast/ChuckleSandwich'' podcast's name is a play on 'knuckle sandwich' and the humorous nature of the show.
141* Every episode title of ''WebAnimation/DeepSpace69'' is a sexual pun.
142* ''WebVideo/GameTheory'', a show dedicated to video-game-related WildMassGuessing, is a pun on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory game theory]], the scientific study of strategic and rational decisions.
143* Many episodes of ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanity II'' are titled this way. For example, episode 3 is entitled "Tri Your Best", which is a pun on the phrase "try your best" while also informing that the focus of the episode would be a triathlon; episode 6, "Let 'Er R.I.P.", is a pun on the phrase "let it rip" while also implying that a previously KilledOffForReal character would be returning; and episode 7, "Everything's A-OJ", is a pun on the phrase "everything's a-OK" while also referring to the fact that OJ replaces [=MePhone=] as the host.
144* ''[[WebOriginal/{{KeitAi}} Keit-Ai]]'' has a pun-based title combining the Romanized versions of the words "Keitai" ("Mobile" as in "Mobile Phone" or "Keitai Denwa") and "Ai" (as in "Love"). This pun doesn't work using Japanese letters or characters.
145* ''[[WebVideo/MrRepzion Mr Repzion]]'' once made a video called, "Vampire Rants On Why Literature/{{Twilight}} Sucks." [[note]] A StealthPun referring to how vampires suck blood. [[/note]]
146* ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'' is a pun on "Suburbanites."
147* In ''Fanfic/FarceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', Chapter 3 is titled: ''In which the court loses the eunuch problem and gains a massive [[InMyLanguageThatSoundsLike Dong]] problem.''
148* Chess.com's TabletopGame/{{chess}}[=-based=] [[UsefulNotes/{{Bitcoin}} NFT project]] is named ''Treasure Chess'', a play on "treasure chest" and "chess".
149* ''WebAnimation/TrueTail'' is a pun on the characters being FunnyAnimals.
150* ''Blog/GaryLandlordOfTheFlies'':
151** The blog's proper name is a play on "Lord of the Flies", a traditional epithet for Beelzebub.
152** The blog's URL, "Stranger Than Eviction", references the common phrase "stranger than fiction."
153* The podcast ''What Could Possibly Go Right?'' references the common phrase "What could possibly go wrong?"
154* Most chapter titles in ''Fanfic/NjalGetsBurned,'' including several with Njal's name, such as "Tooth and Njal," "Last Njal in the Coffin," etc.
155* [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page Wookieepedia]], a ''Franchise/StarWars'' wiki on Fandom, is a pun on the Wookiees and Website/{{Wikipedia}}.
156[[/folder]]
157

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