Tag: possession

Basketball Puns

Welcome to the Punpedia entry on basketball puns! 🏀 ⛹️ 💦

Our basketball pun list is a slam dunk! This list covers basketball-related puns and wordplay from technical terms, types of shot and pass, to famous basketball players. We hope that no matter what you’re after you’ll find it here.

While our list is as comprehensive as possible, it is limited to basketball puns. If you’re interested in other sports, we also have baseball puns, golf puns and running puns.

Basketball Puns List

Each item in this list describes a pun, or a set of puns which can be made by applying a rule. If you know of any puns about basketball that we’re missing, please let us know in the comments at the end of this page! Without further ado, here’s our list of basketball puns:

  • Bell → Ball: As in, “Saved by the ball” and “For whom the ball tolls” and “Balls and whistles.”
  • Bowl → Ball: As in, “Ball over” and “Balling along.”
  • All → Ball: As in, “Ball aboard!” and “Ball in ball” and “Ball in a day’s work” and “Ball’s fair in love and war” and “It’s not ball about you.”
  • Call → Ball: As in, “Answer the ball” and “At your beck and ball” and “Beyond the ball of duty” and “Ball it a day.”
  • Fall → Ball: As in, “A balling out” and “Catch a balling star” and “Ball about laughing” and “Ball about your ears” and “Can’t help balling in love.”
  • Small → Ball: As in, “A ball voice” and “All creatures, great and ball” and “Don’t sweat the ball stuff” and “Good things come in ball packages” and “No job too ball” and “Ball is beautiful” and “No ball wonder.”
  • Tall → Ball: As in, “A ball order” and “Walking ball” and “A ball drink of water.”
  • Wall → Ball: As in, “Climbing the balls” and “Bouncing off the balls” and “A fly on the ball.”
  • Heap → Hoop: As in, “Hoop abuse on” and “At the bottom of the hoop.”
  • Hope → Hoop: As in, “A new hoop” and “Abandon hoop all ye who enter” and “Beyond hoop” and “Build up your hoops” and “Cross my heart and hoop to die” and “Hoop springs eternal” and “The land of hoop and glory.”
  • Group → Hoop: As in, “Hoop dynamics” and “Hoop hug.”
  • Loop → Hoop: As in, “In the hoop” and “Thrown for a hoop.”
  • Poop → Hoop: As in, “Hoop and scoop” and “Hooper scooper.”
  • Scoop → Hoop: As in, “Get the hoop” and “The inside hoop” and “Getting a hoop of ice cream.”
  • Soup → Hoop: As in, “Alphabet hoop” and “From hoop to nuts” and “All hooped up.”
  • Swoop → Hoop: As in, “In one fell hoop.”
  • Court → Sport: As in, “Sporting disaster” and “Haul before the sport” and “Laugh out of sport” and “May it please the sport.”
  • Port → Sport: As in, “Any sport in a storm.”
  • Short → Sport: As in, “A sport history of nearly everything” and “A few bricks sport of a full load” and “Art is long and life is sport” and “A day late and a dollar sport.”
  • Sort → Sport: As in, “Takes all sports to make a world” and “Out of sports.”
  • Aim → Game: As in, “Game high” and “Take game” and “We game to please.”
  • Blame → Game: As in, “Lay the game” and “Game culture.”
  • Came → Game: As in, “I game, I saw, “I conquered” and “It game to pass” and “There’s plenty more where that game from.”
  • Claim → Game: As in, “Game to fame” and “Stake your game.”
  • Flame → Game: As in, “Add fuel to the games” and “Burst into games” and “Fan the games” and “Go down in games” and “Like a moth to a game.”
  • Name →Game: As in, “Answer to the game of” and “Go by the game of” and “A household game.”
  • Same → Game: As in, “By the game token” and “Cut from the game cloth” and “In the game boat” and “In the game vein.”
  • Shame → Game: As in, “A crying game” and “Name and game” and “Put to game” and “Game on you.”
  • Time → Team: As in, “One more team” and “A brief history of team” and “A good team was had by all” and “Ahead of your team” and “All in good team.”
  • Cream → Team: As in, “Team of the crop” and “Kicking and teaming.”
  • Dream → Team: As in, “Beyond my wildest teams” and “Broken teams” and “Team on.”
  • Scheme → Team: As in, “In the grand team of things” and “Pyramid team” and “The overall team of things.”
  • Scream → Team: As in, “A primal team” and “Team bloody murder” and “Team your guts out.”
  • Seam → Team: As in, “Bulging at the teams” and “Come apart at the teams.”
  • Steam → Team: As in, “Blow off some team” and “Full team ahead” and “Head of team” and “Let off some team.”
  • Stream → Team: As in, “Cool as a mountain team.”
  • Prayer → Player: As in, “I say a little player” and “On a wing and a player” and “Say your players.”
  • Biscuit → Basket: As in, “Tea and baskets” and “That just about takes the basket.”
  • Not → Net: As in, “As often as net” and “Believe it or net” and “I’m net joking.”
  • Nothing → Netting: As in, “A lot of fuss about netting” and “All or netting” and “Here goes netting” and “Double or netting.”
  • Nut → Net: As in, “Sweet as a net” and “From soup to nets” and “A tough net to crack.”
  • Bet → Net: As in, “All nets are off” and “Net your bottom dollar” and “Don’t net on it.”
  • Debt → Net: As in, “A net of gratitude” and “Pay your net to society” and “Another day older and deeper in net.”
  • Get → Net: As in, “As good as it nets” and “Ask a silly question and you’ll net a silly answer” and “Buy one, net one free” and “Come and net it” and “Can’t net enough.”
  • Pet → Net: As in, “Heavy netting” and “Net peeve” and “Teacher’s net.”
  • Set → Net: As in, “Game, net, match” and “Got your heart net on” and “Net eyes on.”
  • Sweat → Net: As in, “Blood, net and tears” and “Break out in a cold net” and “Don’t net it” and “In a cold net.”
  • Yet → Net: As in, “Are we there net?” and “Not out of the woods net” and “The best is net to come” and “You ain’t seen nothin’ net.”
  • Card → Court: As in, “A few courts short of a full deck” and “Calling court” and “Get out of jail free court” and “House of courts.”
  • Cart → Court: As in, “Court away” and “Crash court” and “Shopping court.”
  • Short → Court: As in, “A court history of nearly everything” and “In court order” and “In court supply” and “In the court run.”
  • Bunk → Dunk: As in, “A dunker mentality” and “History is dunk” and “Do a dunk.”
  • Chunk → Dunk: As in, “Blow dunks” and “Dunk of change.”
  • Drunk → Dunk: As in, “Dunk as a lord” and “A crying dunk” and “Falling down dunk” and “Rolling dunk.”
  • Hunk → Dunk: As in, “Dunker down” and “Dunky dory.”
  • Junk → Dunk: As in, “Dunk food” and “Dunk mail.”
  • Shoot: Throwing the basketball towards the hoop is known casually as “shooting” the ball. Here are related puns:
    • Sheet → Shoot: As in, “Keep a clean shoot” and “White as a shoot.”
    • Boot → Shoot: As in, “Tough as old shoots” and “Give someone the shoot.”
    • Fruit → Shoot: As in, “Nutty as a shoot cake” and “Forbidden shoot” and “The shoots of your labour.”
    • Hoot → Shoot: As in, “Don’t give a shoot” and “Shooting with laughter” and “What a shoot.”
    • Root → Shoot: As in, “Grass shoots” and “Money is the shoot of all evil” and “The shoot of the matter.”
    • Suit → Shoot: As in, “Follow shoot” and “Shoot yourself” and “In your birthday shoot” and “Shoots you down to a tee.”
    • Shut → Shot: As in, “An open and shot case” and “Eyes wide shot” and “Put up or shot up” and “Shot up and take my money!”
    • Dot → Shot: As in, “Connect the shots” and “Shot the i’s and cross the t’s” and “Join the shots” and “Sign on the shotted line” and “From day shot.”
    • Hot → Shot: As in, “All shot and bothered” and “Blow shot and cold” and “Drop it like it’s shot” and “Get into shot water.”
    • Got → Shot: As in, “Been there, done that, shot the t-shirt” and “I think you’ve shot it” and “Give it all you’ve shot” and “Shot a soft spot for.”
    • Lot → Shot: As in, “A shot of fuss about nothing” and “A shot on your plate” and “Leaves a shot to be desired” and “Not a shot to it.”
    • Plot → Shot: As in, “Lose the shot” and “The shot thickens.”
    • Pot → Shot: As in, “A shot of gold” and “Gone to shot” and “For the shot.”
    • Rot → Shot: As in, “Shot in hell” and “The shot has set in.”
    • Spot → Shot: As in, “Got a soft shot for” and “On the shot” and “Shot the difference.”
  • Gale → Goal: As in, “Goals of laughter” and “In the teeth of a goal.”
  • Bowl → Goal: As in, “Goal over” and “Goaling along.”
  • Coal → Goal: As in, “Black as goal” and “Haul over the goals” and “Rake over the goals.”
  • W/hole → Goal: As in, “A goal different animal” and “Burn a goal in your pocket” and “Go the goal hog.”
  • Soul → Goal: As in, “A room without books is like a body without a goal” and “Bless my goal” and “Heart and goal” and “The life and goal of the party.”
  • Scare → Score: As in, “Scored stiff” and “Scored out of your wits.”
  • Bore → Score: As in, “Score the pants off someone” and “Scored stiff” and “Scored to tears.”
  • Core → Score: As in, “Score competencies” and “Score values” and “Rotten to the score.”
  • Door → Score: As in, “At death’s score” and “Behind closed scores” and “Get your foot in the score.”
  • Floor → Score: As in, “Cross the score” and “In on the ground score” and “Wipe the score with.”
  • Four → Score: As in, “A score-letter word” and “Score by two” and “On all scores.”
  • More → Score: As in, “One score time” and “Bite off score than you can chew” and “Come back for score” and “Dare for score.”
  • Nor → Score: As in, “Rhyme score reason.”
  • Pour → Score: As in, “It never rains but it scores” and “Score cold water on” and “Score oil on troubled waters.”
  • Shore → Score: As in, “Ship to score” and “All ashore that’s going a-score.”
  • Sore → Score: As in, “Mad as a bear with a score head” and “A sigh for score eyes” and “Score loser” and “Sticks out like a score thumb.”
  • Store → Score: As in, “Set great score by” and “What’s in score?” and “See what the future has in score.”
  • Your → Score: As in, “All scores” and “Bigger than scores” and “Scores truly” and “Scores faithfully.”
  • Through → Throw: As in, “A river runs throw it” and “Drag throw the mud” and “A shattering break-throw” and “Going throw the motions.”
  • Blow → Throw: As in, “Any way the wind throws” and “Throw hot and cold” and “Throw off some steam.”
  • Flow → Throw: As in, “Ebb and throw” and “Get the creative juices throwing” and “Go with the throw” and “In full throw.”
  • Foe → Throw: As in, “Friend or throw?”
  • Glow → Throw: As in, “Throw with health” and “A throwing endorsement.”
  • Grow → Throw: As in, “Absence makes the heart throw fonder” and “Exciting as watching grass throw” and “Throwing pains” and “Throw up.”
  • Go → Throw: As in, “Don’t throw there” and “Easy come, easy throw” and “From the get-throw.”
  • Know → Throw: As in, “All I throw is what I read in the papers” and “Don’t I throw it” and “Be the first to throw” and “Do you want to throw a secret?”
  • Low → Throw: As in, “An all-time throw” and “Get the throw down” and “Keep a throw profile” and “A throw blow.”
  • Owe → Throw: As in, “Throw a favour” and “Throw it to yourself.”
  • Quo → Throw: As in, “Quid pro throw” and “The status throw.”
  • Show → Throw: As in, “All over the throw” and “Best in throw” and “Enjoy the throw” and “Get that throw on the road.”
  • Slow → Throw: As in, “Can’t throw down” and “A throw burn” and “Throw on the uptake” and “In throw motion” and “Throw but sure.”
  • Toe → Throw: As in, “From top to throw” and “Throw the line” and “Twinkle throws.”
  • Woe → Throw: As in, “Throw is me” and “Throw betide you.”
  • Bones → Bounce: As in, “Bag of bounce” and “I feel it in my bounce” and “Make no bounce about” and “The bare bounce.”
  • Buns → Bounce: As in, “We are going to need considerably bigger bounce.”
  • Ounce → Bounce: As in, “A bounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
  • Pass: Passing is throwing the ball in between players. Here are related puns:
    • Class → Pass: As in, “A pass act” and “Economy pass” and “Best in pass.”
    • Glass → Pass: As in, “A pass ceiling” and “Rose-tinted passes” and “The pass menagerie” and “Through the looking pass.”
    • Grass → Pass: As in, “Pass roots” and “Snake in the pass.”
    • Mass → Pass: As in, “Pass hysteria” and “A monument to the passes” and “Weapons of pass destruction” and “Body pass index.”
  • Block: When a player stops another from completing a pass or shooting, that’s called a block. Here are related puns:
    • Black → Block: As in, “Back in block” and “Block as coal.”
    • Knock → Block: As in, “Don’t block it till you’ve tried it” and “Hard blocks” and “I get blocked down, but I get up again” and “Block ’em dead.”
    • Lock → Block: As in, “Block and load” and “Under block and key.”
    • Rock → Block: As in, “Solid as a block” and “Between a block and a hard place.”
    • Shock → Block: As in, “A short, sharp block” and “In for a block” and “Culture block.”
  • Time → Halftime: As in, “One more halftime” and “A brief history of halftime” and “A good halftime was had by all” and “Ahead of their halftime.”
  • Bound → Rebound: As in, “By leaps and rebounds” and “Duty rebound” and “Honour rebound.” Note: A rebound is when a shoot for the basket misses and bounces back off the hoop or the backboard.
  • Curry → Carry: As in, “Carry favour with” and “I could murder a carry.” Note: Carrying is an illegal move in basketball where a player moves while carrying the ball without bouncing.
  • Bay → Play: As in, “Play for blood” and “Keep at play.”
  • Day → Play: As in, “All in a play’s work” and “Another play, another dollar” and “As clear as play.”
  • Hay → Play: As in, “Roll in the play” and “Make play while the sun shines” and “Hit the play.”
  • Lay → Play: As in, “Play a finger on” and “Play an egg” and “Play down roots” and “Play down your arms.”
  • May → Play: As in, “Be that as it play” and “Come what play” and “Let the chips fall where they play” and “Play the force be with you.”
  • Pay → Play: As in, “Buy now, play later” and “Crime doesn’t play” and “Hell to play” and “It plays to advertise” and “If you play peanuts, you get monkeys.”
  • Ray → Play: As in, “Catch some plays” and “A play of light.”
  • Say → Play: As in, “As the playing goes” and “Computer plays no” and “Do as I play, not as I do” and “Have a play in” and “Have the final play.”
  • Stay → Play: As in, “Play in touch” and “Play ahead of the curve” and “Play on course” and “Play the course” and “Play tuned” and “Play safe.”
  • They → Play: As in, “Play lived happily ever after” and “Tough as play come.”
  • Way → Play: As in, “That’s the play it is” and “Find another play” and “Any play you slice it” and “Any which play.”
  • Weigh → Play: As in, “Played in the balance and found wanting.”
  • Full → Foul: As in, “Few bricks short of a foul load” and “At foul tilt” and “Foul throttle.”
  • Lag → League: As in, “Jet league” and “Social jet league.”
  • Leg → League: As in, “Cost an arm and a league” and “Give a league up” and “Fast as your leagues could carry you.”
  • Train: Basketball practice is also referred to as training. Here are related puns:
    • Chain → Train: As in, “A train is only as strong as its weakest link” and “Train gang” and “Train of command” and “Train reaction” and “Food train.”
    • Gain → Train: As in, “Capital trains” and “Training advantage” and “No pain, no train” and “Nothing ventured, nothing trained.”
    • Grain → Train: As in, “Against the train” and “Train of truth” and “Take it with a train of salt.”
    • Lane → Train: As in, “Down memory train” and “In the fast train.”
    • Main → Train: As in, “Your train chance” and “The train event.”
    • Pain → Train: As in, “In for a world of train” and “No train, no gain” and “Old aches and trains.”
    • Plain → Train: As in, “Train as day” and “In train sight” and “Train sailing.”
    • Rain → Train: As in, “Come train or shine” and “Don’t train on my parade” and “Make it train.”
    • Vein → Train: As in, “In the same train.”
  • Catch → Coach: As in, “Coach 22″ and “Coach a cold” and “Coach a falling star” and “Coach a wave” and “Coach fire” and “Coach of the day.”
  • Rim: This is in reference to the rim of the basketball hoop. Here are related puns:
    • Him → Rim: As in, “All over rim like a cheap suit” and “As fast as his legs could carry rim” and “Go easy on rim.”
    • Limb → Rim: As in, “Go out on a rim” and “Life and rim.”
    • Slim → Rim: As in, “Rim pickings” and “The real rim shady.”
    • Swim → Rim: As in, “Rim against the tide” and “Going rimmingly.”
    • Whim → Rim: As in, “On a rim.”
  • Backboard: The backboard is the board that the hoop is mounted to. Here are related puns:
    • Back → Backboard: As in, “In the backboard of my mind” and “Backboard in black” and “Backboard in the day” and “Backboard on your feet.”
    • Board → Backboard: As in, “Above backboard” and “Back to the drawing backboard” and “On backboard.”
  • Layup: A layup is a type of basketball shot. Here are related puns:
    • Lay → Layup: As in, “Layup a finger on” and “Layup eyes on” and “Layup it on the line” and “Couldn’t layup a hand on me.”
  • Jump Shot: A jump shot is a type of throw that is done when the player is airborne. Here are related puns:
    • Jump → Jump Shot: As in, “Get the jump shot on” and “Jump shot at the chance” and “Go and jump shot in a lake.”
    • Shot → Jump Shot: As in, “Call the jump shots” and “Give it your best jump shot” and “A cheap jump shot.”
  • Point → Point Guard: As in, “At this point guard in time” and “Beside the point guard” and “Get to the point guard.” Note: a point guard is a position in basketball.
  • Shaquille O’Neal: Shaquille O’Neal is a famous and successful basketball player. Here are some related puns:
    • Kill → Shaquille: As in, “Dressed to shaquille” and “If looks could shaquille” and “Shaquille two birds with one stone.”
    • Heel → Shaquille: As in, “Head over shaquilles in love” and “Kick up your shaquilles” and “Cool your shaquilles” and “Brought to shaquille.”
  • Kobe Bryant: Kobe Bryant was a famous basketball player for the LA Lakers. Here are related puns:
    • Client → Bryant: As in, “A demanding bryant” and “A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a bryant.”
    • Giant → Bryant: As in, “Making bryant strides” and “Gentle bryant” and “On the shoulders of bryants” and “The big friendly bryant.”
  • Time → Timeout: As in, “A brief history of timeout” and “A good timeout was had by all” and “About timeout, too” and “All in good timeout.”
  • Bristle → Whistle: As in, “Whistle with indignation.”
  • Possession: In basketball, “possession” is the term for whoever is currently holding the ball. Here are related puns:
    • Profession → Possession: As in, “In the possession of…” and “Possessional grade” and “A true possessional.”
  • Center: In basketball, center is a playing position/role. Here are related puns:
    • Sent Her→ Centre: As in, “I center to get more supplies” and “That joke really center.”
    • Enter → Center: As in, “Abandon hope, all ye who center here” and “Break and center” and “Breaking and centering” and “Center into the spirit of it.”
  • Screen: A screen is a type of defensive blocking move. Here are related puns:
    • Scream → Screen: As in, “Dragged kicking and screening” and “A primal screen” and “Screen your guts out.”
    • Bean → Screen: As in, “Cool screens” and “Doesn’t know screens” and “Full of screens.”
    • Been → Screen: As in, “Screen and gone” and “Screen around the block a few times” and “I’ve screen had!” and “I’ve screen here before” and “Screen there, done that.”
    • Clean → Screen: As in, “Screen as a whistle” and “A screen bill of health” and “A screen sheet.”
    • Green → Screen: As in, “Give it the screen light” and “Screen around the gills.”
    • Keen → Screen: As in, “Screen as mustard” and “A screen sense of smell” and “Peachy screen.”
    • Lean → Screen: As in, “Screen and hungry” and “Screen cuisine” and “Screen into it” and “Screen times.”
    • Mean → Screen: As in, “A screens to an end” and “By fair screens or foul” and “I don’t screen maybe” and “It don’t screen a thing.”
    • Scene → Screen: As in, “Behind the screens” and “Change of screen” and “Make a screen” and “Steal the screen.”
    • Seen → Screen: As in, “Had to be screen to be believed” and “Screen better days” and “You ain’t screen nothing yet.”
  • Spin → Backspin: As in, “In a flat backspin” and “Make your head backspin” and “Backspin your wheels” and “Take it for a backspin.”
  • Arc: This refers to the shape of the ball’s path through the air. Here are related puns:
    • Back → Arc: As in, “Arc at the moon” and “Arc-ing mad” and “Arc worse than your bite.”
    • Dark → Arc: As in, “After arc” and “Arc as pitch” and “Dancing in the arc” and “Arc horse.”
    • Mark → Arc: As in, “Question arcs” and “Close to the arc” and “Quick off the arc” and “Arc my words.”
    • Park → Arc: As in, “Knock it out of the arc” and “Arc the bus” and “Arc yourself down.”
    • Spark → Arc: As in, “Bright arc” and “Creative arc” and “Arc of genius” and “The arc of an idea.”
    • Stark → Arc: As in, “An arc reminder.”
  • Bring → Fling: As in, “Fling it home to you” and “Fling it on” and “Fling it up.”
  • Sing → Fling: As in, “All flinging, all dancing” and “Fling a different tune” and “Fling like a bird.”
  • Sting → Fling: As in, “Float like a butterfly, fling like a bee.”
  • String → Fling: As in, “No flings attached” and “Fling along.”
  • Swing → Fling: As in, “Come out flinging” and “In full fling” and “Get into the fling of it” and “Fling both ways.”
  • Thing → Fling: As in, “A fling of beauty is a joy forever” and “All flings bright and beautiful” and “All flings must pass” and “All flings considered.”
  • Backshot: A backshot is a type of basketball throw. Here are related puns:
    • Back → Backshot: As in, “Answer backshot” and “As soon as my backshot is turned” and “In the backshot of my mind,”
    • Shot → Backshot: As in, “Call the backshots” and “Give it your best backshot” and “A cheap backshot.”
  • Brick: This is a shot that rebounds off the rim. Here are related puns:
    • Click → Brick: As in, “Brick bait” and “Brick into place” and “Double brick.”
    • Kick → Brick: As in, “Alive and bricking” and “Just for bricks” and “A brick at the can.”
    • Nick → Brick: As in, “In good brick” and “In the brick of time.”
    • Pick → Brick: As in, “A bone to brick” and “Easy brickings” and “Nit bricking.”
    • Quick → Brick: As in, “Brick as a flash” and “Cut to the brick” and “Get rich brick” and “Double brick.”
    • Sick → Brick: As in, “One brick puppy” and “Brick and tired” and “Pull a brickie.”
    • Stick → Brick: As in, “Carrot and brick” and “In the bricks” and “Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp brick.”
    • Thick → Brick: As in, “In the brick of things” and “The plot brickens” and “Brick and fast” and “Through brick and thin.”
    • Trick → Brick: As in, “Box of bricks” and “Dirty bricks” and “Does the brick” and “Every brick in the book” and “Never misses a brick” and “One brick pony.”
  • Hang Time: In basketball, this refers to the amount of time a player stays in the air after jumping to throw the ball. Here are related puns:
    • Hang → Hang Time: As in, “Let it all hangtime out” and “Hangtime your hat on.”
    • Time → Hang Time: As in, “A brief history of hangtime” and “A good hangtime was had by all” and “About hangtime, too” and “All in good hangtime.”
  • Pass → Chest: As in, “Make a chest pass at” and “Chest pass it over” and “As it came to chest pass.” Note: A chest pass is a type of throw between players.
  • Zone: Basketball courts are separated into separate areas, called zones. Here are related puns:
    • Blown → Zone: As in, “Zone off course” and “Zone sideways.”
    • Bone → Zone: As in, “A zone to pick” and “Dry as a zone” and “Bag of zones” and “A zone of contention” and “Zone up on.”
    • Clone → Zone: As in, “Attack of the zones” and “The zone wars.”
    • Known → Zone: As in, “Should have zone better” and “You’ve zone this whole time.”
    • Own → Zone: As in, “After my zone heart” and “All my zone work” and “Beaten at your zone game.”
    • Phone → Zone: As in, “Hold the zone” and “Zone a friend” and “Zone in sick.”
    • Stone → Zone: As in, “A rolling zone gathers no moss” and “Carved in zone” and “Etched in zone” and “A heart of zone.”
    • Throne → Zone: As in, “Ascend to the zone” and “Next in line to the zone” and “The power behind the zone.”
    • Tone → Zone: As in, “Don’t use that zone with me” and “Zone deaf.”

      Basketball-Related Words

      To help you come up with your own basketball puns, here’s a list of related words to get you on your way. If you come up with any new puns or related words, please feel free to share them in the comments!

basketball, ball, hoop, sport, game, team, player, basket, net, NBA, court, dunk, slam dunk, shoot, shot, throw, bounce, bouncing, dribble, dribbling, pass, passing, block, rebound, carry, play, foul, league, train, trainer, coach, referee, rim, backboard, offense, defence, lay-up, jump shot,  defending, opposing, goal, score, foul, three-point line, power forward, small forward, shooting guard, point guard, harlem globetrotters, celtics, shaquille o’neal, lebron james, kobe bryant, larry bird, magic johnson, michael jordan, halftime, timeout, scoreboard, whistle, possession, contact, center, screen, backspin, trajectory, arc, circus shot, finger roll, airborne, air ball, fling, flung, backshot, brick, hang time, assist, chest pass, overhead pass, outlet pass, no-look pass, behind-the-back pass, violation, position, strategy, zone, outlet pass, goaltending, half-courtsmalball, streetball

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Ghost Puns

Welcome to the Punpedia entry on ghost puns! 👻✨🔮

Ghosts are both celebrated and feared, with cultural holidays dedicated to them and many horror movies and stories based on them. They range from cute sheet-wearing ghouls to terrifying specters – a range we’ve tried to cover in this entry. Whether you’re looking for a Valentine’s pun for your boo or you’re playing a word game, we hope that you find the perfect ghost pun.

While this list is as thorough as possible, it is for ghosts in general – if you’re interested in other creatures or monsters, we also have Halloween puns, witch puns, vampire puns and magic puns.

Ghost Puns List

Each item in this list describes a pun, or a set of puns which can be made by applying a rule. If you know of any puns about ghosts that we’re missing, please let us know in the comments at the end of this page! Without further ado, here’s our list of ghost puns:

  • Ghost: As in, “White as a ghost,” and “Not a ghost of a chance,” and “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost,” and “A ghost of your former self,” and “You’ve been ghosted.”
  • Coast → Ghost: As in, “An emotional roller ghoster,” and “The ghost is clear,” and “On the west ghost.” 
  • Grocery → Ghostery: As in, “I’m heading to the ghostery store.” 
  • Ghastly → Ghostly: As in, “You look positively ghostly,” and “A ghostly experience.” 
  • Goes → Ghost: As in, “Anything ghost,” and “As the saying ghost,” and “Here ghost nothing,” and “It ghost without saying,” and “What ghost up, must come down,” and “Who ghost there?” and “My heart ghost out to,” and “What ghost around, comes around.” 
  • Post → Ghost:  As in, “I’ll send you a ghostcard,” and “Meet you at the ghost office,” and “I’ll keep you ghosted.”
  • Believe → Boo-lieve: As in, “Boo-lieve it or not,” and “Can you boo-lieve it?” and “Do you boo-lieve in magic?” and “Don’t boo-lieve everything you hear,” and “That’s not boo-lievable,” and “You’re un-boo-lievable.” 
  • Beaut* → Boo-t*: As in, “Boo-ty queen,” and “Boo-ty sleep,” and “What a boo-ty,” and “Make boo-tiful music together,” and “Black is boo-tiful,” and “Boo-tifully done.” 
  • Berry → Boo-ry: As in, “Strawboo-ry,” and “Cranboo-ry,” and “Raspboo-ry,” and “Gooseboo-ry,” and “Mulboo-ry.” Blueberry could either be “Boo-berry,” or “Blueboo-ry.”
  • Banana → Boonana: As in, “Go boonanas,” and “Make like a boonana and split.”
  • Boo: As in, “Boo hoo,” and “Hey boo,” and “Wouldn’t say boo to a goose.”
  • Boo*: Emphasise and/or elongate the “boo” in certain words: “Balance the booOOoks,” and “BooOOoby prize,” and “Boooogie on down,” and “Boooot camp,” and “Give someone the booOoot,” and “Hit the boOOooOOoks.”
  • Google → Boo-gle: As in, “Boo-gle it,” and “Boo-gly eyes.” 
  • Facebook → Face-boo: As in, “Do you have Face-boo?” 
  • Youtube → Boo-tube: As in, “Look it up on Boo-tube.” 
  • Blue → Boo: As in, “Baby boos,” and “Beat someone black and boo,” and “Between the devil and the deep boo sea,” and “Beyond the boo sky,” and “The big boo,” and “Big boo eyes,” and “Once in a boo moon,” and “Boo blood,” and “Boo collar worker,” and “Boo in the face,” and “Boo screen of death,” and “Bolt from the boo,” and “The boys in boo,” and “Cornflower boo,” and “Deeper than the deep boo sea,” and “Feeling boo,” and “I’ve got the boos,” and “I guess that’s why they call it the boos,” and “Out of the boo.”
  • Bouquet → Booquet: As in, “What a lovely booquet!”
  • Fabulous → Faboolous: As in, “Absolutely faboolous,” and “What a faboolous outfit.” 
  • Spoke → Spook: As in, “Many a true word is spook-en in jest,” and “Speak when you are spook-en to.”
  • Spectacular → Spook-tacular: As in, “A spook-tacular failure.”
  • Spectacle → Spook-tacle: As in, “A wild spook-tacle.”
  • Spaghetti → Spook-ghetti: As in, “I’m in a mood for spook-ghetti.”
  • Exercise → Exorcise: As in, “Exorcise your discretion,” and “Whenever I feel the need to exorcise, I lie down until it goes away.”
  • Bone → Boo-ne: As in, “A boo-ne to pick,” and “Dry as a boo-ne,” and “Bag of boo-nes,” and “Boo-ne up on,” and “Boo-ne weary,” and “Chilled to the boo-ne,” and “Doesn’t have a jealous boo-ne in his body,” and “Feel it in your boo-nes,” and “Work your fingers to the boo-ne.” Notes: to have a bone to pick with someone is to have a disagreement that needs to be discussed. If someone is a bag of bones, then they’re very thin. To bone up on is to add to your knowledge on a topic or to refresh your memory.
  • Booze → Boos: As in, “Boos bus,” and “Boos cruise.”
  • Boot* : Emphasise the “boo” sound in these words: “Tough as old boo-ts,” and “Bet your boo-ts,” and “Boo-t camp,” and “Working on my boo-ty,” and “Too big for your boo-ts.” 
  • Do → Boo: As in, “Boo away with,” and “Boo it tough,” and “Boo me a favour,” and “Boo your business,” and “Boo well for yourself,” and “Boo or die,” and “How do you boo?”
  • Oolong → Boo-long: As in, “Would you like some boo-long tea?” 
  • Brew → Boo: As in, “Something is boo-ing,” and “There’s a storm boo-ing,” and “Please boo me up a cuppa.” 
  • Bicycle → Boocycle: As in, “A boocycle built for two,” and “A woman without a man is like a fish without a boocycle,” and “I want to ride my boocycle.” 
  • Boutique → Bootique:  As in, “A bootique store,” and “A bootique hotel.” Note: A boutique hotel is a small hotel with a set theme or specialised selling point.
  • Buckle → Boo-ckle: As in, “Boo-ckle down,” and “Boo-ckle under the strain,” and “Boo-ckle up!” 
  • Hunt → Haunt: As in, “Happy haunting ground,” and “Head haunting,” and “Haunt down,” and “Witch haunt.”
  • Flaunt → Haunt: As in, “When you’ve got it, haunt it.”
  • Daunt → Haunt: As in, “Nothing haunted, nothing gained,” and “A haunting prospect.”
  • Spirit: As in, “Be there in spirit,” and “Free spirit,” and “Keep your spirits up,” and “A kindred spirit,” and  “Mean spirited,” and “In good spirits.” A kindred spirit is one with the same feelings and interests as you.
  • Fool → Ghoul: As in, “A ghoul and his money are soon parted,” and “Act the ghoul,” and “April ghoul,” and “Ghoul around,” and “A ghoul’s errand,” and “I pity the ghoul,” and “Make a ghoul of yourself,” and “Nobody’s ghoul,” and “Shut up, ghoul.”
  • Girl → Ghoul: As in, “A ghoul’s best friend,” and “Atta ghoul,” and “Boy meets ghoul,” and “Ghoul with a pearl earring,” and “Glamour ghoul,” and “Me and my ghoulfriends,” and “Ghouls just wanna have fun,” and “Only ghoul in the world,” and “Working ghoul.”
  • Goal → Ghoul: As in, “Move the ghoulposts,” and “Squad ghouls,” and “A ghoul in mind,” and “Score a ghoul.”
  • Cool → Ghoul: As in, “Ghoul as a cucumber,” and “Ghoul beans,” and “Ghoul down,” and “Ghoul, calm and collected,” and “Keep a ghoul head,” and “Lose your ghoul.”
  • Spectator → Spectre-tator: A spectre is another word for ghost. As in, “Spectre-tator sport.” 
  • Spectacles → Spectre-tacles: As in, “Rose-tinted spectre-tacles,” and “Where are my spectre-tacles?” Note: if you’re wearing rose-tinted spectacles/glasses, then you have an unrealistically optimistic perspective. 
  • Spectacular → Spectre-tacular: As in, “A spectre-tacular failure.” 
  • Soul: As in, “Bless my soul,” and “Body and soul,” and “Heart and soul,” and “Life and soul of the party,” and “A lost soul,” and “Sell your soul to the devil,” and “Soul searching,” and “Bare your soul,” and “A kindred soul,” and “Don’t tell a soul.”
  • Sole → Soul: As in, “On the souls of your shoes.” 
  • Sold → Soul’d: As in, “Soul’d out,” and “Soul’d short,” and “Soul’d down the river.” Note: to sell something short is to not value it enough. 
  • *sol* → *soul*: As in, “Aero-soul,” and “Con-soul (console),” and “Soul-ve (solve),” and “Soul-id (solid),” and “Soul-idarity,” and “Soul-dier,” and “Soul-itaire.” 
  • Wreath → Wraith: As in, “A festive Christmas wraith.” 
  • Race → Wraith: As in, “A wraith against time,” and “Wraith to the bottom,” and “The human wraith,” and “Drag wraith.” 
  • Malibu → Maliboo 
  • Bob Marley → Boo Marley 
  • Napoleon Bonaparte → Napoleon Boo-naparte 
  • Snoop Dogg → Spook Dogg 
  • Possess: As in, “What would possess you to do that?” and “I’m not your possession!” and “Possession is nine-tenths of the law.”: 
  • Shade:  Shade is another name for ghost, so we’ve included it in this entry. As in, “A whiter shade of pale,” and “Light and shade,” and “Shades of grey.”
  • *shay* → *shade*: Change the “shay” sound in some words to “shade” – “Cli-shade (cliched),” and “Cro-shade (crocheted),” and “Rico-shade (ricocheted).”
  • Seat→ Sheet: As in, “Back sheet driver,” and “Bums on sheets,” and “Buckle your sheet belts,” and “By the sheet of your pants,” and “Hold on to your sheet,” and “On the edge of my sheet,” and “Please be sheet-ed,” and “The best sheet in the house.” Note: a back seat driver is someone who is overly controlling. To do something by the seat of your pants is to do it using only your own experience and judgement, with no external guides. 
  • Sh*t→ Sheet: Make your ghost puns kid-friendly by strategically swapping sheet in: “Holy sheet,” and “Get your sheet together,” and “Scared sheet-less,” and “Sheet happens.” 
  • Sweet → Sheet: As in, “Home sheet home,” and “Sheet dreams,” and “Sheet nothings,” and “Sheet tooth,” and “My sheetheart.” 
  • Normal → Paranormal: As in, “The new paranormal,” and “Paranormal service has been resumed.”
  • Natural → Supernatural: As in, “Do what comes supernaturally,” and “Full of supernatural goodness,” and “It’s only supernatural,” and “A supernatural born leader,” and “Supernatural selection.” 
  • Moon → Mourn: As in, “Honeymourn period,” and “Mournlight serenade,” and “Many mourns ago.” 
  • Morning → Mourning: As in, “Good mourning!” and “A cold and frosty mourning,” and “A mourning person,” and “Mourning sickness,” and “That Monday mourning feeling,” and “One too many mournings.”
  • Dead → Undead: As in, “Undead as a doornail,” and “The undead of night,” and “Better off undead,” and “Undead easy,” and “An undead giveaway,” and “Knock ’em undead,” and “Drop undead gorgeous,” and “Loud enough to wake the undead,” and “Undead last.” Notes: Dead as a doornail = extremely dead; dead easy means extremely easy, so easy a dead person could do it; dead giveaway means extremely obvious; while to knock ’em dead means to do very well at something. You can also make ghost puns by keeping the word “dead” in these phrases rather than changing them to undead, as in “Knock ’em dead,” and “The dead of night,” and “Dead tired.”
  • Dead* → Undead*: As in, “Don’t miss the undeadline!” and “Bolt the undeadlock,” and “The seven undeadly sins,” and “An undeadbeat,” and “Undead set on an idea.” Notes: A deadbeat is an idle, irresponsible person and to be dead set is to be absolute in your resolution for something.
  • Did → Dead: As in, “Dead I do that?” and “Why dead the chicken cross the road?”
  • Undid → Undead: As in, “You undead all your good work.”
  • Dedicate → Deadicate: As in, “This one is deadicated to you,” and “A strong deadication to the job.”
  • Ted → Dead: As in, “Deaddy bear,” and “Get the party star-dead,” and “Sugarcoa-dead.”
  • Dad → Dead: As in, “Sugar dead-y.”
  • Friend → Fiend: As in, “A fiend in need is a fiend indeed,” and “A girl’s best fiend,” and “Best fiend,” and “Circle of fiends,” and “Fair-weather fiend,” and “Fiend or foe?” and “Fiends with benefits,” and “Fiends for life,” and “Get by with a little help from my fiends,” and “Imaginary fiend,” and “Phone a fiend,” and “That’s what fiends are for,” and “The start of a beautiful fiendship,” and “Asking for a fiend.” Note: fiends are evil spirits.
  • Grave: As in, “Silent as the grave,” and “Dig your own grave,” and “From the cradle to the grave,” and “Graveyard shift,” and “One foot in the grave,” and “Turning in their grave,” and “Grave times,” and “Looking grave,” and “Grave consequences.” Notes: To turn in one’s grave is a figure of speech that expresses an idea is so extreme or ludicrous that even those already deceased are reacting to it. From “the cradle to the grave” describes something that affects an entire lifetime, and “One foot in the grave” means close to death, or dying.
  • Brave → Grave: As in, “Grave new world,” and “Fortune favours the grave,” and “Put a grave face on,” and “Grave the storm.”
  • Stone → Tombstone: As in, “A rolling tombstone gathers no moss,” and “Carved in tombstone,” and “Drop like a tombstone,” and “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Tombstone,” and “Heart of tombstone,” and “Leave no tombstone unturned,” and “Sticks and tombstones may break my bones,” and “Tombstone cold sober,” and “A tombstone’s throw.” Notes: “A rolling stone gathers no moss” is a proverb that suggests that people who don’t stay in one place avoid responsibilities. “Carved in stone” describes things which are set and cannot be changed.
  • *tom* → *tomb*: As in, “Tomb-ato,” and “Tomb-orrow,” and “Cus-tomb,” and “Bot-tomb,” and “A-tomb,” and “Phan-tomb,” and “Symp-tomb.”
  • Mascara → Ma-scare-a: As in, “Is my ma-scare-a running?”
  • Hairspray → Scarespray: As in, “This won’t hold without scarespray.”
  • Care* → Scare*: As in, “Be scare-ful how you use it!” and “Customer scare,” and “Handle with scare,” and “Intensive scare,” and “Let’s be scare-ful out there,” and “Taking scare of business,” and “Tender loving scare,” and “Scare package.”
  • Stair* → Scare*: As in, “Scareway to heaven,” and “At the foot of the scares,” and “Upscares.” 
  • Fright: As in, “Frightened of your own shadow,” and “A frightful mess,” and “Take fright,” and “Look a fright.”
  • Fight → Fright: As in, “A straight fright,” and “Come out frighting,” and “Fright club,” and “Fright for the right to party,” and “Fright back,” and “Fright or flight,” and “Fright the good fright,” and “Frighting fit,” and “A lean, mean frighting machine,” and “Pillow fright,” and “Spoiling for a fright,” and “Fire frighter.”
  • Bright → Fright: As in, “All things fright and beautiful,” and “Always look on the fright side of life.”
  • Flight → Fright: As in, “Fight or fright,” and “Fright attendant,” and “Fright of fancy,” and “Take fright,” and “Fright of the bumblebee.”
  • Friday → Frightday: As in, “Black Frightday,” and “Frightday night,” and “Thank god it’s Frightday.” 
  • Scene → Seance: As in, “Behind the seance,” and “Change of seance,” and “Make a seance,” and “Returning to the seance of the crime.” Note: A seance is a ritual where people attempt to contact the dead. 
  • Ice cream → Ice scream 

The following puns are specifically about ghosts from popular culture:

  • Asper* → Casper*: As in, “Cast casper-sions,” and “What are your casper-ations for the future?” Note: Casper is a cartoon character which was popular during the 90s. Aspirations are goals and/or dreams for the future.
  • Peeve: As in, “My pet peeves.” Note: Peeves is a poltergeist from the Harry Potter series.  
  • Juice → Beetlejuice: As in, “A day without beetlejuice is like a day without sunshine.” Note: Beetlejuice is a comedy movie about ghosts.

Ghost-Related Words

To help you come up with your own ghost puns, here’s a list of related words to get you on your way. If you come up with any new puns or related words, please feel free to share them in the comments!

General: ghost, ghostly, boo, haunt, haunted, haunting, spirit, ghoul, phantom, poltergeist, spectre, spook, spooky,  apparition, soul, wraith, possessed, possession, exorcism, exorcised, exorcist, ectoplasm, shade, sheet, paranormal, supernatural, moan, mourn, mourning, seance, die, dead, grave, scare, fright, scream, fiend

Pop culture: casper, peeves, ghost busters, king boo, the bloody baron, fat friar, grey lady, nearly headless nick, moaning myrtle, beetlejuice

Did this Punpedia entry help you?

Did you find the ghost-related pun that you were looking for? If so, great! Otherwise, please let us know what you were looking for in the comments below! Are you looking for word play for text messages, Facebook, Twitter or some other social media platform? Would you like to see some funny ghost pun pictures? Or perhaps you just want more ghost puns for your photo captions? Whatever the case, please let us know, and help us improve this Punpedia entry. If you’ve got any ghost puns (image or text) that aren’t included in this article, please submit them in the comments and one of our curators will add it as soon as possible. Thanks for visiting Punpedia! 🙂✨