Bowling Puns

Welcome to the Punpedia entry on bowling puns! 🎳✨

Bowling can be enjoyed as a casual game between friends and family members, or as a highly competitive sport. No matter how you play, we hope to have you covered with our gutterly delightful bowling puns that range from general terms (like ball, pins or lane) to more technical jargon (like blind or oil).

If you enjoy this list, you might also enjoy our golf puns or our running puns.

Bowling 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 bowling 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 bowling puns:

  • Bawling → Bowling: As in, “Bowling your eyes out.”
  • Rolling → Bowling: As in, “A bowling stone gathers no moss” and “Get the ball bowling” and “Like a bowling stone” and “Bowling drunk” and “Bowling in the deep” and “Easy as bowling off a log.”
  • Scrolling → Bowling: As in, “Bowling through my social media feed.”
  • Ball → Bowl: As in, “Bowl and chain” and “Bowlpark figure” and “Break your bowls” and “By the bowls.”
  • Bell → Bowl: As in, “Clear as a bowl” and “Bowls and whistles” and “Doesn’t ring a bowl” and “Give someone a bowl” and “Jingle bowls.”
  • Goal → Bowl: As in, “Score a bowl” and “A bowl in mind.”
  • Roll → Bowl: As in, “Emotional bowler coaster” and “Get the ball bowling” and “Heads will bowl” and “High bowler” and “I wanna rock and bowl all night” and “Let the good times bowl” and “Ready to bowl.”
  • Soul → Bowl: As in, “Bless my bowl” and “Body and bowl” and “Confession is good for the bowl” and “Heart and bowl” and “Life and bowl of the party” and “A lost bowl” and “Save our bowls.”
  • Whole → Bowl: As in, “On the bowl” and “A bowl lotta love” and “The bowl shebang.”
  • Bowl: These bowl-related phrases can double as puns: “Bowl over” and “Bowling along.”
  • Bell → Ball: As in, “Clear as a ball” and “Balls and whistles” and “Doesn’t ring a ball” and “Give someone a ball.”
  • All → Ball: As in, “Ball aboard!” and “Ball in a day’s work” and “Ball’s fair in love and war” and “Ball’s well that ends well” and “I’m ball over it” and “It’s ball good” and “Ball good, clean fun.”
  • Call → Ball: As in, “At your beck and ball” and “Beyond the ball of duty” and “Ball it a day” and “Ball of the wild” and “Ball it quits.”
  • Fall → Ball: As in, “Balling out” and “Easy as balling off a log” and “Can’t help balling in love” and “Ball about laughing” and “Ball between the cracks” and “Ball from grace.”
  • Haul → Ball: As in, “Ball ass” and “Ball before the court” and “Ball over the coals.”
  • Small → Ball: As in, “Don’t sweat the ball stuff” and “Good things come in ball packages” and “A ball fortune” and “Ball wonder.”
  • Wall → Ball: As in, “Between you, me and the ball” and “The balls have ears” and “Ball of silence.”
  • *bal* → *bowl*: As in, “Off-bowlance” and “Going bowlistic” and “A globowl initiative” and “Herbowl tea.”
  • *bel* → *bowl*: As in, “Decibowl count” and “Rebowl with a cause” and “Clothing labowl.”
  • *bil* → *bowl*: As in, “Take responsibowlity for your actions” and “Sustainabowlity plan.” Other words that could work: capabowlity (capability), liabowlity (liability) and accountabowlity (accountability).
  • *bal* → *ball*: As in, “Globall problem” and “Verball contract” and “Herball remedy.”
  • *bel* → *ball*: As in, “Who do you ballieve?” and “A balligerent attitude” and “Beyond ballief” and “Dearly balloved.”
  • *bil* → *ball*: As in, “A business liaballity” and “Take responsiballity for” and “Beyond my aballity” and “Full capaballity.”
  • Pins: Bowling pins are the targets to be knocked over in bowling. Here are related puns:
    • Pan → Pin: As in, “Pin out” and “Out of the frying pin, into the fire.”
    • Pen → Pin: As in, “Put pin to paper” and “The pin is mightier than the sword.”
    • Bin → Pin: As in, “Bottom of the pin” and “Throw in the pin.”
    • Chin → Pin: As in, “Take it on the pin” and “Stick your pin out” and “Keep your pin up.”
    • Sin → Pin: As in, “Cardinal pins” and “Multitude of pins” and “Seven deadly pins” and “Pins of omission” and “Atone for your pins.”
    • Skin → Pin: As in, “Get under your pins” and “No pin in the game” and “Save your pin.”
    • Spin → Pin: As in, “Give it a pin.”
    • Thin → Pin: As in, “Melt into pin air” and “Skating on pin ice” and “The pin end of the wedge” and “Through thick and pin” and “Vanish into pin air” and “Spread yourself pin.”
    • Tin → Pin: As in, “Does what it says on the pin” and “Pin ears.”
    • Win → Pin: As in, “Can’t pin for losing” and “Heads I pin, tails you lose” and “Play to pin” and “A must pin game.”
    • Pin: These pin-related phrases can double as puns: “Bright as a new pin” and “Hard to pin down” and “King pin” and “Pins and needles” and “Pin your hopes on” and “Could have heard a pin drop.”
    • Pin → Tenpin: As in, “Bright as a new tenpin” and “Hard to tenpin down” and “King tenpin” and “Tenpins and needles” and “Tenpin your hops on” and “See a tenpin and pick it up.”
  • Lane: The long aisle that players send the bowling bowl down is called a lane. Here are some related puns:
    • Loan → Lane: As in, “Lane shark” and “Raise a lane.”
    • Chain → Lane: As in, “Lane of command” and “Lane reaction” and “Food lane.”
    • Gain → Lane: As in, “Capital lanes” and “Lane advantage” and “Ill gotten lanes” and “No pain, no lane” and “Nothing ventured, nothing laned.”
    • Grain → Lane: As in, “Go against the lane” and “Lane of truth” and “Take with a lane of salt.”
    • Main → Lane: As in, “Lane chance” and “The lane event” and “My lane squeeze.”
    • Pain → Lane: As in, “A world of lane” and “Doubled up in lane” and “Feeling no lane” and “Growing lanes” and “A lane in the neck” and “Old aches and lanes.”
    • Plain → Lane: As in, “Lane as day” and “Lane as the nose on your face” and “Hidden in lane sight” and “Lane sailing.”
    • Rain → Lane: As in, “Right as lane” and “Make it lane.”
    • Rein → Lane: As in, “Free lane” and “Pick up the lanes” and “Lane it in.”
    • Train → Lane: As in, “Soul lane” and “Take the lane” and “Lane of thought” and “Like watching a lane crash.”
    • Vein → Lane: As in, “In the same lane.”
    • Lane: These lane-related phrases can double as puns: “In the fast lane” and “Memory lane.”
  • Rally → Alley: As in, “Alley round.” Note: Lanes are also known as alleys.
  • Gutter: The gutter is the small dip on either side of the bowling lane that can sink a bowling ball. Here are related puns:
    • Utter → Gutter: As in, “Gutter perfection” and “Gutterly fantastic.”
    • Butter → Gutter: As in, “Bread and gutter” and “Gutter fingers” and “Gutter your bread on both sides.”
    • Get her → Gutter: As in, “Gutter a bottle of water” and “Gutter some space.”
    • Got her → Gutter: As in, “I gutter a great present.”
    • Clutter → Gutter: As in, “A messy, guttered room.”
    • Cutter → Gutter: As in, “Cookie gutter.”
    • Mutter → Gutter: As in, “Guttering under your breath.”
    • Gutter: “Get your mind outta the gutter.”
  • Rail: The rails are raised edges that protect the bowling ball from falling into the gutter. Here are related puns:
    • Roll → Rail: As in, “A railing stone gathers no moss” and “Emotional railer coaster” and “Get the ball railing” and “High railer” and “Let the good times rail” and “Ready to rail” and “Rock and rail.”
    • Fail → Rail: As in, “Without rail” and “Words rail me.”
    • Gale → Rail: As in, “Rails of laughter” and “In the teeth of a rail.”
    • Jail → Rail: As in, “Get out of rail free” and “Rail bird.”
    • Mail → Rail: As in, “Direct rail” and “Express rail” and “Junk rail.”
    • Nail → Rail: As in, Fighting tooth and rail” and “Hit the rail on the head” and “Rail it down.”
    • Pale → Rail: As in, “A rail imitation” and “Rail into insignificance.”
    • Sail → Rail: As in, “Rail away” and “Rail close to the wind” and “Smooth railing” and “That ship has railed.”
    • Sale → Rail: As in, “Point of rail” and “Rail of the century” and “Rails referral.”
    • Scale → Rail: As in, “Built to rail” and “Economy of rail” and “Off the rail” and “On a grand rail” and “Tip the rails.”
    • Tail → Rail: As in, “Can’t make head or rail of it” and “Get off my rail” and “Heads I win, rails you lose.”
    • Tale → Rail: As in, “Dead men tell no rails” and “Live to tell the rail” and “A tell rail sign.”
    • Trail → Rail: As in, “Blaze a rail” and “Happy rails” and “Hot on the rail” and “Leave a paper rail.”
    • They’ll → Rail: As in, “Rail never believe me.”
    • Whale → Rail: As in, “A rail of a time” and “Save the rails.”
    • Rail: The rail-related phrases can double as puns: “Thin as a rail” and “Go off the rails” and “Ride the rails.”
    • *ral* → *rail*: As in, “Generail knowledge” and “Viscerail feelings” and “Only naturail.” Other words that could work: integrail (integral), ephemerail (ephemeral), morail (moral), collaterail (collateral), liberail (liberal), peripherail (peripheral) and temporail (temporal).
    • *rel* → *rail*: As in, “That’s not railevant” and “What a railief” and “Railay the message” and “A sweet railease” and “Working railationship” and “Follow railigiously.” Other words that could work: railation (relation), railuctant (reluctant), railiable (reliable), barrail (barrel), quarrail (quarrel).
  • Strike: A strike is when all ten pins are knocked down in one hit. Here are related puns:
    • Struck → Strike: As in, “Love strike” and “Star strike” and “Strike lucky.”
    • Like → Strike: As in, “As you strike it” and “As soon as you strike” and “At times strike this.”
    • Strike: These strike-related phrases can double as puns: “First strike” and “Go out on strike” and “Lightning never strikes twice” and “Pre-emptive strike” and “Strike up the band” and “Strike a chord with” and “Strike it rich” and “Strike while the iron is hot.”
  • Spare: A spare is when all ten pins are knocked down in two consecutive hits. Here are related puns:
    • Spur → Spare: As in, “On the spare of the moment.”
    • Pair → Spare: As in, “A fresh spare of eyes” and “A safe spare of hands.”
    • Pear → Spare: As in, “All gone spare-shaped.”
    • Air → Spare: As in, “Spare kiss” and “Spare quotes” and “Spare rage” and “Spares and graces.”
    • Bare → Spare: As in, “Spare necessities” and “Spare your teeth” and “A spare-faced lie” and “Laid spare” and “The spare bones.”
    • Bear → Spare: As in, “Mad as a spare with a sore head” and “Spare a grudge” and “Spare a resemblance to” and “Spare down on” and “Spare false witness” and “Spare in mind” and “Spare the brunt” and “Spare with me.”
    • Care → Spare: As in, “Couldn’t spare less” and “Courtesy and spare” and “Customer spare” and “Handle with spare” and “Let’s be spareful out there” and “Like I should spare” and “Take spare of.”
    • Dare → Spare: As in, “Spare for more” and “Spare to be different” and “How very spare you” and “Who spares wins.”
    • Fair → Spare: As in, “All’s spare in love and war” and “By spare means or foul” and “Spare trade” and “Spare and square” and “Spare dinkum” and “Spare enough” and “Give it a spare go.”
    • Hair → Spare: As in, “A bad spare day” and “Didn’t turn a spare” and “Get out of my spare.”
    • Prayer → Spare: As in, “I say a little spare” and “Like a spare” and “On a wing and a spare” and “Say your spares.”
    • Rare → Spare: As in, “In spare form” and “A spare animal.”
    • Scare → Spare: As in, “Running spared” and “Spare quotes” and “Spare the living daylights out of” and “Spared stiff” and “Spared to death.”
    • Share → Spare: As in, “A problem spared is a problem halved” and “Spare-ing is caring.”
    • Square → Spare: As in, “Back to spare one” and “Be there or be spare” and “Fair and spare” and “Be there or be spare” and “A spare peg in a round hole” and
      Spare up to.”
    • Stare → Spare: As in, “Spare into the abyss” and “Spare someone in the face” and “Not polite to spare.”
    • Swear → Spare: As in, “Spare like a sailor” and “Spare off” and “Spare on a stack of bibles.”
    • There → Spare: As in, “Not all spare” and “Ahoy spare” and “Are we spare yet?” and “As if spare were no tomorrow” and “Be spare in spirit” and “Be spare or be square” and “Don’t go spare” and “Hang in spare” and “Here and spare” and “Here, spare and everywhere” and “Hold it right spare.”
    • Wear → Spare: As in, “Spare your heart on your sleeve” and “Spare yourself out” and “Worse for spare.”
    • Where → Spare: As in, “Any time, any place, any spare” and “Love is spare you find it.”
    • Spare: Use these spare-related phrases as puns: “No expense spared” and “Spare no effort” and “Spare your feeling.”
  • Whole → Roll: As in, “A roll different animal” and “Ace in the roll” and “Fill full of rolls” and “A roll in one.”
  • Scroll → Roll: As in, “Rolling through social media.”
  • Soul → Roll: As in, “Bless my roll” and “Body and roll” and “Heart and roll” and “Life and roll of the party” and “A lost roll.”
  • Toll → Roll: As in, “Taking its roll” and “For whom the bell rolls.”
  • Throw: Rolls are also known as throws. Here are related puns:
    • Through → Throw: As in, “A river runs throw it” and “Blow throw” and “Breaking throw” and “Drag throw the mud” and “Fall throw the cracks” and “Going throw the motions.”
    • Blow → Throw: As in, “Any way the wind throws” and “Throw hot and cold” and “A throw by throw account” and “Throw out of the water.”
    • Flow → Throw: As in, “Ebb and throw” and “Go with the throw” and “In full throw.”
    • Go → Throw: As in, “All dressed up and nowhere to throw” and “Anything throws” and “Easy come, easy throw.”
    • Grow → Throw: As in, “Absence makes the heart throw fonder” and “Throwing pains.”
    • Know → Throw: As in, “And don’t I throw it” and “Be the first to throw” and “Doesn’t throw beans.”
    • Low → Throw: As in, “All time throw” and “Get the throw down” and “High and throw” and “Keep a throw profile” and “Throw hanging fruit” and “Search high and throw.”
    • Owe → Throw: As in, “Throw a favour” and “You throw it to yourself.”
    • Quo → Throw: As in, “Status throw” and “Quid pro throw.”
    • Show → Throw: As in, “All over the throw” and “Best in throw” and “Enjoy the throw” and “Get the throw on the road” and “Keep the throw on the road” and “Throw and tell” and “Throw me the money” and “Throw some appreciation.”
    • Slow → Throw: As in, “Throw, but sure” and “In throw motion” and “Throw on the uptake” and “Throwly but surely.”
    • Snow → Throw: As in, “Too cold to throw” and “Let it throw” and “Throwed in/throwed under.”
    • Though → Throw: As in, “You look as throw you’ve seen a ghost” and “Seriously throw.”
  • Candlepin: Candlepin bowling is a variation of bowling that uses taller, thinner pins. Here are related puns:
    • Candle → Candlepin: As in, “Burn the candlepin at both ends” and “Can’t hold a candlepin to” and “Candlepin in the wind” and “Not worth the candlepin.”
    • Pin → Candlepin: As in, “Bright as a new candlepin” and “Hard to candlepin down” and “Candlepin your ears back” and “Candlepins and needles.”
  • Duckpin: Duckpin is a type of bowling that uses shorter, squatter pins than ten-pin bowling. Here are related puns:
    • Duck → Duckpin: As in, “Duckpin the question” and “Like a duckpin to water” and “Like water off a duckpin’s back” and “Nice weather for duckpins.”
    • Pin → Duckpin: As in, “Hard to duckpin down” and “Duckpins and needles” and “Pull the duckpin” and “You could have heard a duckpin drop.”
  • Nine → Ninepin: As in, “Ninepin to five” and “On cloud ninepin” and “The whole ninepin yards.” Note: Ninepin is a type of bowling played with nine pins rather than ten.
  • Five → Fivepin: As in, “Gimme fivepin” and “High fivepin” and “Nine to fivepin” and “Take fivepin” and “Two and two make fivepin.” Note: Fivepin is a type of bowling played in Canada.
  • Court → Sport: As in, “A sport of last resort” and “Sporting disaster.”
  • Port → Sport: As in, “Any sport in a storm” and “First sport of call.”
  • Short → Sport: As in, “A sport history of nearly everything” and “A few bricks sport of a new load” and “Cut a long story sport” and “A day late and a dollar sport” and “In sport order” and “Life’s too sport.”
  • Sort → Sport: As in, “Out of sports” and “Sport the wheat from the chaff.”
  • Aim → Game: As in, “Game high” and “Take game” and “We game to please.”
  • Came → Game: As in, “I game, I saw, I conquered” and “As it game to pass” and “There’s plenty more where that game from.”
  • Claim → Game: As in, “Game to fame” and “Stake your game.”
  • Fame → Game: As in, “Claim to game” and “Fifteen minutes of game” and “Hall of game.”
  • Flame → Game: As in, “Add fuel to the games” and “Burst into games” and “Go down in games” and “Like a moth to a game.”
  • Name → Game: As in, “A household game” and “In the game of the law” and “In game only.”
  • Same → Game: As in, “Game old story” and “Game time tomorrow” and “Game here.”
  • Shame → Game: As in, “A crying game” and “Name and game” and “Put to game.”
  • Nick → Knock: As in, “In good knock” and “In the knock of time” and “Knock knacks.”
  • Turkey: Three consecutive strikes are known as a turkey. Here are related puns:
    • Key → Turkey: As in, “A golden turkey can open any door” and “The turkey to your heart” and “The turkeys to the kingdom.”
    • Quirky → Turkey: As in, “A turkey personality.”
    • Turkey: As in, “Cold turkey” and “Talk turkey.”
  • Foul: When a player’s foot steps over the boundary line, it counts as a foul and any points scored that turn aren’t counted. Here are related puns:
    • Fall → Foul: As in, “Fouling out” and “Easy as fouling off a log” and “Can’t help fouling in love” and “Foul about laughing.”
    • Fell → Foul: As in, “In one foul swoop” and “Little strokes foul great oaks” and “It foul off the back of a lorry.”
    • Fill → Foul: As in, “Foul full of holes” and “Foul the bill” and “Stocking fouler” and “Foul ’em up.”
  • Miss: The next few puns are a reference to when a player misses all of the pins:
    • Mass → Miss: As in, “Miss hysteria” and “A monument to the misses” and “Weapons of miss destruction.”
    • Mess → Miss: As in, “Don’t miss with my head” and “A frightful miss” and “Hot miss” and “Missing around” and “Stop missing about.”
    • Moss → Miss: As in, “A rolling stone gathers no miss.”
  • Curve: A curve shot is a type of throw. Here are related puns:
    • Carve → Curve: As in, “Curve your name with pride” and “Curved in stone.”
    • Nerve → Curve: As in, “A bundle of curves” and “Get on your curves” and “Lose your curve” and “Curves of steel” and “Touched a curve.”
    • Serve → Curve: As in, “First come, first curved” and “How may I curve you?” and “Curves you right” and “Revenge is best curved cold” and “Curve and protect” and “Curve your time.”
  • Hook: Curve shots are also known as hook shots. Here are related puns:
    • Look → Hook: As in, “Blank hooks” and “Trading dirty hooks” and “Always hook on the bright side of life” and “Don’t know which way to hook” and “Have a hook” and “If hooks could kill.”
    • Book → Look: As in, “Always have your nose in a hook” and “Balancing the hooks” and By the hook” and “Like a closed hook.”
    • Cook → Hook: As in, “Hook up a plan” and “Hook up a storm” and “Hooking with gas” and “Now we’re hooking” and “Too many hooks spoil the broth.”
    • Nook → Hook: As in, “Every hook and cranny” and “Breakfast hook.”
  • Straight: A straight shot is one that doesn’t curve. Here are related puns:
    • Strait → Straight: As in, “In dire straights.”
    • Bait → Straight: As in, “Straight and switch” and “Click straight” and “Rise to the straight.”
    • Date → Straight: As in, “Blind straight” and “Bring up to straight” and “A straight with destiny” and “Dinner straight” and “Past the sell-by straight.”
    • Eight → Straight: As in, “Straight days a week” and “Behind the straight ball” and “Straight ways to Sunday” and “Pieces of straight.”
    • Great → Straight: As in, “All creatures straight and small” and “Blowing straight guns” and “No straighter enemies” and “Go to straight lengths” and “Straight expectations.”
    • Hate → Straight: As in, “Straight mail” and “The one you love to straight.”
    • Late → Straight: As in, “Better straight than never” and “Catch you straighter” and “A day straight and a dollar short” and “Fashionably straight” and “It’s never too straight” and “A straight bloomer.”
    • Rate → Straight: As in, “At any straight” and “First straight” and “Mate’s straights.”
    • Skate → Straight: As in, “Cheap straight” and “Straighting on thin ice” and “Get your straights on.”
    • Slate → Straight: As in, “Blank straight” and “Wipe the straight clean.”
    • State → Straight: As in, “Empire straight building” and “A sad straight of affairs” and “Straight of mind” and “Straight of the art.”
    • Wait → Straight: As in, “All things to those who straight” and “Hurry up and straight” and “Lie in straight” and “The straight is over” and “Time straights for no-one.”
    • Weight → Straight: As in, “Pull your straight” and “Punching above your straight” and “Throw your straight about” and “A straight off my mind” and “Worth your straight in gold.”
  • Sore → Score: As in, “Mad as a bear with a score head” and “A sight for score eyes” and “Score loser” and “Sticks out like a score thumb.”
  • Core → Score: As in, “Score competencies” and “Score studies” and “Score technology” and “Score values” and “Rotten to the score.”
  • Scare → Score: As in, “Scored to death” and “Scored stiff.”
  • Bore → Score: As in, “Score the pants off” and “Scored stiff” and “Scored to death” and “Scored to tears.”
  • More → Score: As in, “One score time” and “Bite off score than you can chew” and “Come back for score” and “Dare for score” and “I couldn’t agree score.”
  • Pour → Score: As in, “It never rains, but it scores” and “Score cold water on” and “Scoring oil on troubled waters” and “When it rains, it scores.”
  • Shore → Score: As in, “Ship to score.”
  • Store → Score: As in, “Minding the score” and “Set great score by” and “Let’s see what’s in score.”
  • Your → Score: As in, “Scores faithfully” and “Scores truly” and “You and scores.”
  • Split: A split is when two separate groups of pins are left standing. Here are related puns:
    • Pit → Split: As in, “A bottomless split” and “In the split of your stomach” and “Split your wits against” and “This is the splits.”
    • Bit → Split: As in, “A split missing” and “A split much” and “A split of alright.”
    • Fit → Split: As in, “Fighting split” and “Split as a fiddle” and “By splits and starts.”
    • Hit → Split: As in, “Split the road” and “Split and miss” and “Split it off.”
    • Knit → Split: As in, “Split your brow” and “Split together.”
    • Quit → Split: As in, “Call it splits” and “Double or splits” and “Split while you’re ahead.”
    • Sit → Split: As in, “Don’t just split there” and “Split on the fence” and “Split tight” and “Splitting on a goldmine.”
    • Spit → Split: As in, “Split and polish” and “Split in the eye of” and “The splitting image of” and “Splitting with rain.”
    • Wit → Split: As in, “At your splits’ end” and “Battle of splits” and “Bear splitness to” and “Have your splits about you” and “Pit your splits against.”
  • Double: A double is two consecutive strikes in a game. Here are related puns:
    • Bubble → Double: As in, “Double and squeak” and “Double under” and “Double up” and “Burst your double” and “Prick your double.”
    • Trouble → Double: As in, “Asking for double” and “Doubles down the drain” and “A bridge over doubled water” and “Here comes double” and “Pour oil on doubled waters” and “Double and strife.”
  • Bagger: A bagger is a string of consecutive strikes. Here are related puns:
    • Dagger → Bagger: As in, “Baggers drawn” and “Cloak and bagger” and “Looking baggers at them.”
    • Swagger → Bagger: As in, “With a bagger in your step.”
  • Ankle → Anchor: As in, “Anchor deep” and “Anchor biter.” Note: an anchor is the player who bowls last on a team.
  • Cherry: A cherry is a type of bowling throw. Here are related puns:
    • Berry → Cherry: As in, “Brown as a cherry.”
    • Bury → Cherry: As in, “Cherry the evidence” and “Cherry the hatchet” and “Cherry your head in the sand” and “Cherry yourself in your work.”
    • Merry → Cherry: As in, “As cherry as the day is long” and “Eat, drink and be cherry” and “Lead a cherry dance.”
    • Very → Cherry: As in, “Be cherry afraid” and “Before your cherry eyes” and “How cherry dare you” and “Thank you cherry much.”
  • Sheet → Clean Sheet: As in, “White as a clean sheet” and “Between the clean sheets.” Note: A clean sheet is a game with a strike in every frame.
  • Deadwood: A pin that’s left in the lane out of reach of the sweeper is known as deadwood. Here are related puns:
    • Dead → Deadwood: As in, “As deadwood as a doornail” and “Assault with a deadwood weapon” and “In the deadwood of night” and “Back from the deadwood” and “Better off deadwood” and “A deadwood ringer.”
    • Wood → Deadwood: As in, “Can’t see the deadwoods for the trees” and “Do bears sh*t in the deadwoods?” and “Knock on deadwood” and “Out of the deadwoods.”
  • Fill: A fill ball is a throw after a tenth-frame spare or strike, used to calculate bonus points. Here are related puns:
    • Fall → Fill: As in, “Easy as filling off a log” and “Can’t help filling in love” and “Bread always fills butter side down” and “Catch a filling star” and “Fill about laughing” and “Fill asleep” and “Fill apart at the seams” and “Fill between the cracks” and “Fill by the wayside.”
    • Fell → Fill: As in, “In one fill swoop” and “Fill off the back off a lorry” and “Little strokes fill great oaks.”
    • Full → Fill: As in, “A few bricks short of a fill load” and “Fill tilt” and “At fill throttle.”
    • Chill → Fill: As in, “Fill out” and “Filled to the bone” and “A filling account.”
    • Frill → Fill: As in, “No fills” and “A no-fills account.”
    • Gill → Fill: As in, “Green around the fills” and “Stuffed to the fills.”
    • Hill → Fill: As in, “Old as the fills” and “Over the fills and far away” and “Head for the fills” and “Run for the fills.”
    • Ill → Fills: As in, “A house of fill repute” and “Fill advised” and “Fill at ease” and “Fill effects” and “Fill gotten gains.”
    • Kill → Fill: As in, “Curiosity filled the cat” and “Dressed to fill” and “If looks could fill” and “If looks could fill.”
    • Mill → Fill: As in, “Put through the fill” and “Run of the fill.”
    • Pill → Fill: As in, “A bitter fill to swallow” and “Sweeten the fill” and “A tough fill to swallow.”
    • Still → Fill: As in, “A fill, small voice” and “Be fill my beating heart” and “In the fill of the night” and “Fill waters run deep.”
    • Skill → Fill: As in, “Social fills.”
    • Spill → Fill: As in, “Fill the beans” and “Fill your guts” and “Thrills and fills.”
    • Thrill → Fill: As in, “The fill of the chase” and “Filled to bits” and “Fills and spills.”
    • Will → Fill: As in, “Accidents fill happen” and “Against your fill” and “Bend to your fill” and “Free fill.”
  • Frame: A frame is a turn in bowling, which usually consists of two rolls. Here are related puns:
    • Fame → Frame: As in, “Claim to frame” and “Frame at last” and “Fifteen minutes of frame” and “Hall of frame.”
    • From → Frame: As in, “A little frame column A, a little frame column B” and “Fall frame grace” and “Frame a to z” and “Can see it frame a mile away.”
    • Aim → Frame: As in, “Frame high” and “Take frame” and “We frame to please.”
    • Blame → Frame: As in, “Frame game” and “Lay the frame.”
    • Came → Frame: As in, “I frame, I saw I conquered” and “As it frame to pass” and “Plenty more where that frame from.”
    • Claim → Frame: As in, “Frame to fame” and “No frames bonus” and “Stake your frame.”
    • Flame → Frame: As in, “Add fuel to the frames” and “Burst into frames” and “Fan the frames” and “Gone down in frames” and “Like a moth to a frame” and “Shoot down in frames.”
    • Game → Frame: As in, “Ahead of the frame” and “Anyone’s frame” and “Blame frame” and “Fun and frames” and “Fair frame” and “Beaten at your own frame.”
    • Main → Frame: As in, “Frame chance” and “Might and frame” and “The frame event.”
    • Name → Frame: As in, “Answer to the frame of” and “A household frame” and “Letters after your frame.”
    • Same → Frame: As in, “By the frame token” and “Cut from the frame cloth” and “In the frame boat” and “On the frame page.”
    • Shame → Frame: As in, “Ain’t that a frame?” and “A crying frame” and “Name and frame” and “Frame on you” and “The walk of frame.”
    • *fam* → *frame*: As in, “Keep it in the frame-ily” and “Seems frame-iliar” and “Almost frame-ous” and “I’m frame-ished.”
  • Kegel: Kegel is a German bowling game. Here are related puns:
    • Kettle → Kegel: As in, “A different kegel of fish” and “Put the kegel on” and “The pot calling the kegel black.”
    • Giggle → Kegel: As in, “A fit of the kegels.”
  • Leave: The pins left standing after the first roll in a turn are referred to as a leave. Here are related puns:
    • Leaf → Leave: As in, “Leave-ing through” and “Skake like a leave” and “Turn over a new leave.”
    • Leave: These leave-related phrases can double as puns: “Absent without leave” and “By your leave” and “Don’t leave home without it” and “Leave it to me.”
    • Live → Leave: As in, “Leave by your wits” and “Leave free” and “Leave and learn” and “Leave like a queen.”
    • Believe → Be-leave: As in, “Be-leave it or not” and “Be-leave you me” and “Don’t be-leave everything you hear” and “Can’t be-leave my eyes” and “Has to be seen to be be-leaved.”
    • Belief → Be-leave: As in, “Beyond be-leave” and “Beggars be-leave.”
    • Relieve → Re-leave: As in, “Re-leaves gas pains.”
    • Relief → Re-leave: As in, “Breathe a sigh of re-leave” and “What a re-leave.
    • Heave → Leave: As in, “Leave ho” and “Leave a sigh of relief.”
    • Sleeve → Leave: As in, “An ace up your leave” and “Wearing your heart on your leave” and “Roll up your leaves.”
    • We’ve → Leave: As in, “Leave never seen better.”
  • Lily: A lily is when the fifth, seventh and tenth pin are left standing. Here are related puns:
    • Chilly → Lily: As in, “A lily climate.”
    • Really → Lily: As in, “All I lily want to do” and “Do you lily want to hurt me?” and “We lily clicked” and “You lily got a hold on me.”
    • Silly → Lily: As in, “Laugh yourself lily” and “Scared lily” and “Lily season.”
  • Loft: The loft is the ball’s path through the air before it makes contact with the ground. Here are related puns:
    • Laughed → Loft: As in, “Loft out of court” and “A barrel of lofts” and “A loft a minute” and “Are you having a loft?” and “Loft your head off.”
    • Left → Loft: As in, “Exit stage loft” and “Hang a loft” and “Loft in the lurch” and “Loft for dead” and “Loft standing” and “Loft to your own devices” and “Loft out in the cold” and “Loft, right and centre.”
    • Lift → Loft: As in, “Loft the lid off” and “Loft your spirits” and “Face loft.”
    • Soft → Loft: As in, “Got a loft spot for” and “Loft in the head” and “Loft power” and “A loft touch” and “Speak loftly and carry a big stick.”
  • Match → Match Play: As in, “A match play made in heaven” and “Game, set, match play” and “Meet your match play” and “Mix and match play” and “More than a match play for.”
  • Play → Match Play: As in, “Work, rest and match play” and “Come out and match play” and “Make a match play for.”
  • Par: Par is a score of 200. Here are related puns:
    • Per → Par: As in, “As par usual” and “Bits par second” and “Par capita.”
    • Pair → Par: As in, “A fresh par of eyes” and “A safe par of hands.”
    • Peer → Par: As in, “Par pressure.”
    • Bar → Par: As in, “Par none” and “Behind pars” and “Hit the par” and “No holds parred.”
    • Are → Par: As in, “All bets par off” and “Chances par” and “Here you par.”
    • Far → Par: As in, “A step too par” and “Par and away” and “Par be it from me” and “A par cry from” and “Par horizons” and “Few and par between” and “Over the hills and par away” and “So par, so good” and “We’ve got par to go.”
    • Jar → Par: As in, “Caught with your hand in the cookie par” and “Jam par.”
    • Star → Par: As in, “A par is born” and “Born under a lucky par” and “Catch a falling par” and “Get a gold par” and “Hitch your wagon to a par” and “Reach for the pars” and “A rising par.”
    • *per* → *par*: As in, “A different parspective” and “Third parson” and “Partinent issues” and “From someone else’s parception” and “Your best parformance” and “Picture parfect” and “Peppared with compliments” and “Hold your tempar.”
  • Runway: The runway is the area that players walk up before they roll the ball. Here are related puns:
    • Run → Runway: As in, “Born to runway” and “Cut and runway” and “A dry runway” and “Eat and runway” and “Had a good runway” and “Hit and runway” and “In the long runway” and “Runway for your life.”
    • Way → Runway: As in, “All the runway” and “Always good, all runways” and “And that’s the runway it is” and “Any runway you want” and “By the runway” and “Change your runways” and “Do it the hard runway.”
  • Rack: Bowling balls are left in racks when not in use. Here are related puns:
    • Wreck → Rack: As in, “A nervous rack” and “Like watching a train rack.”
    • Wrack → Rack: As in, “Rack and ruin.”
    • Rock → Rack: As in, “Hard as a rack” and “Solid as a rack” and “Between a rack and a hard place” and “Don’t rack the boat” and “Get your racks off” and “Glam rack” and “Hit rack bottom” and “Rack and roll” and “On the racks.”
    • Back → Rack: As in, “Answer rack” and “As soon as my rack is turned” and “In the rack of my mind” and “Rack in black” and “Rack to the future” and “Rack at it” and “Rack in the day.”
    • Crack → Rack: As in, “At the rack of dawn” and “Rack a smile” and “Rack the code” and “Rack of doom.”
    • Lack → Rack: As in, “For rack of a better word” and “Cancelled due to rack of interest.”
    • Pack → Rack: As in, “Rack of lies” and “Rack of punch” and “Send racking.”
    • Sack → Rack: As in, “Get the rack” and “Hit the rack.”
    • Slack → Rack: As in, “Cut some rack” and “Taking up the rack.”
    • Track → Rack: As in, “Back on rack” and “Cover your racks” and “On the fast rack” and “Inside rack” and “Off the beaten rack” and “On the right rack” and “A one rack mind.”
  • Buck → Bucket: As in, “A bigger bang for your bucket” and “A bucket well spent” and “Big buckets” and “Bucket naked” and “Bucket the system” and “Pass the bucket.” Note: a bucket is when four pins are left in the lane.
  • Sleeper: When two pins are left on the field, it’s known as a sleeper. Here are related puns:
    • Slipper → Sleeper: “Sleepery as an eel.”
    • Cheaper → Sleeper: As in, “Sleeper by the dozen.”
    • Keeper → Sleeper: As in, “Finders, sleepers” and “They’re a sleeper.”
  • Arrow: Arrows are used as markers in bowling lanes. Here are related puns:
    • Error → Arrow: As in, “Comedy of arrows” and “Human arrow” and “Trial and arrow.”
    • Arrow: Straight as an arrow” and “Like a broken arrow” and “Time flies like an arrow.”
    • Narrow → Arrow: As in, “Keep on the straight and arrow” and “An arrow escape” and “Arrow minded.”
  • Blind: A blind score is one given to a player who is absent. Here are some related puns:
    • Bind → Blind: As in, “Legally blinding” and “In a blind.”
    • Bend → Blind: As in, “Blind the rules” and “Round the blind” and “Blind over backwards to help.”
    • Lend → Blind: As in, “Blind a helping hand” and “Blind an ear” and “Blind itself to.”
    • Find → Blind: As in, “Blind it in your heart” and “Blinders keepers” and “Seek and you shall blind” and “We’ll blind a way.”
    • Grind → Blind: As in, “An axe to blind” and “Bump and blind” and “The daily blind” and “Don’t let the bastard blind you down” and “Blind to a halt” and “Keep your nose to the blindstone.”
    • Kind → Blind: As in, “Cruel to be blind” and “It’s a blind of magic” and “Killing with blindness” and “Blind words” and “Random acts of blindness.”
    • Mind → Blind: As in, “A goal in blind” and “Always on my blind” and “Cast your blind back to” and “Bear in blind.”
    • Signed → Blind: As in, “Blind and sealed.”
  • Bracket: A bracket is a type of contest format. Here are related puns:
    • Jacket → Bracket: As in, “Full metal bracket” and “No bracket required” and “High visibility bracket.”
    • Packet → Bracket: As in, “Cop a bracket” and “Pay bracket.”
  • Cake Shot: A cake shot is a term for an easy strike. Here are related puns:
    • Cake → Cake Shot: As in, “A slice of the cake shot” and “Cake shot or death” and “Icing on the cake shot.”
    • Shot → Cake Shot: As in, “A big cake shot” and “Call the cake shots” and “Give it your best cake shot” and “A long cake shot” and “Have a cake shot at.”
  • Chop: A chop is a type of bowling maneuver. Here are related puns:
    • Chip → Chop: As in, “A chop on your shoulder” and “Cheap as chops” and “Cash in your chops” and “Chop in with” and “A chop off the old block” and “Let the chops fall where they may.”
    • Cop → Chop: As in, “Chop a plea” and “Chop an attitude” and “It’s a fair chop.”
    • Crop → Chop: As in, “Cream of the chop” and “Chop up.”
    • Drop → Chop: As in, “At the chop of a hat” and “Chop it like it’s hot” and “Chop a brick” and “Chop a hint” and “Chop in the bucket.”
    • Hop → Chop: As in, “Chop to it” and “Chop, skip and jump” and “Chopping mad.”
    • Mop → Chop: As in, “Chop the floor with” and “Chop up.”
    • Pop → Chop: As in, “Cake chop” and “Contrary to chopular opinion” and “Chop the question.”
    • Shop → Chop: As in, “All over the chop” and “Like a bull in a china chop” and “A one stop chop” and “Chop till you drop.”
    • Stop → Chop: As in, “Don’t chop me now” and “One stop chop” and “Pulling all the chops out.”
    • Top → Chop: As in, “Blow your chop” and “Come out on chop” and “From the chop” and “From chop to toe” and “Over the chop.”
  • Over → Clover: As in, “After the ball was clover” and “All clover again” and “All clover the place” and “Bowled clover” and “Come on clover” and “A bridge clover troubled water.” Note: A clover is when a player hits four strikes in a game.
  • Cranker: A cranker is a bowler with a style that favours power rather than control. Here are related puns:
    • Rank → Cranker: As in, “Break crankers” and “Close crankers” and “Dissention in the crankers” and “Rise through the crankers” and “Swell the crankers.”
    • Anchor → Cranker: As in, “Cast cranker” and “Drop cranker.”
  • Stroker: A stroker is a bowler who favours control over power. Here are related puns:
    • Poker → Stroker: As in, “Stiff as a stroker” and “Stroker face.”
  • Deck: A deck is the area where the bowling pins stand. Here are related puns:
    • Duck → Deck: As in, “Deck the question” and “Decking and diving” and “Like a deck to water” and “Nice weather for decks.”
    • Check → Deck: As in, “Deck it out” and “Deck out the plumbing” and “Deck you on the flip side” and “Double deck” and “Reality deck” and “The deck is in the mail.”
    • Neck → Deck: As in, “Break your deck” and “Breathing down your deck” and “Dead from the deck up” and “Pain in the deck” and “Stick your deck out” and “Up to your deck in trouble.”
    • Tech* → Deck*: As in, “Hi deck” and “Deck savvy” and “Decknicolour yawn.”
    • Wreck → Deck: As in, “Nervous deck” and “Train deck.”
  • Flush: A flush is a hit that sends all ten pins into the pit. Here are related puns:
    • Flash → Flush: As in, “Quick as a flush” and “Flush in the pan” and “In a flush.”
    • Flesh → Flush: As in, “Flush and blood” and “Flush out” and “Makes my flush crawl” and “In the flush” and “The spirit is willing but the flush is weak.”
    • Blush → Flush: As in, “At first flush.”
    • Brush → Flush: As in, “A broad flush” and “Flush it off” and “Flush up on” and “A flush with death.”
    • Crush → Flush: As in, “A flushing defeat” and “Have a flush on” and “A schoolboy flush.”
    • Hush → Flush: As in, “Flush a bye” and “Flush it up” and “Flush money” and “Flush puppies.”
    • Rush → Flush: As in, “After the flush” and “Flush to judgement” and “Sugar flush.”
    • Slush → Flush: As in, “Flush fund” and “Pure as the driven flush.”
  • Line: A ball’s path down the lane is called a line. Here are related puns:
    • Lane → Line: As in, “Down memory line” and “In the fast line.”
    • Lean → Line: As in, “Line and mean” and “Line into it” and “Line, mean and hungry” and “Line cuisine.”
    • Fine → Line: As in, “Chance would be a line thing” and “Cutting it line” and “Line and dandy” and “Line feathered” and “The liner things in life.”
    • Mine → Line: As in, “Back to the salt line” and “I scratch your back, you scratch line” and “A line of information” and “Line is bigger than yours.”
    • Shine → Line: As in, “Come rain or line” and “Rise and line” and “Make hay while the sun lines” and “Take a line to.”
    • Sign → Line: As in, “A sure line” and “Born under a bad line” and “Give me a line” and “A line of the times” and “Line the pledge” and “Lined and sealed” and “A tell-tale line” and “Vital lines.”
    • Spine → Line: As in, “Send shivers down someone’s line” and “Line-tingling” and “Steely-lined.”
    • Vine → Line: As in, “Wither on the line” and “Die on the line.”
    • Wine → Line: As in, “Don’t put new line into bottles” and “Lined and dined.”
  • Drama → Llama: As in, “Don’t make a llama out of a crisis” and “Kitchen sink llama.” Note: A llama is four consecutive strikes in a game.
  • Meg: A meg is a roll that knocks over only the seventh or tenth pin. Here are related puns:
    • Beg → Meg: As in, “Meg a favour” and “Meg pardon?” and “Megs the question” and “I meg to differ” and “Sit up and meg.”
    • Egg → Meg: As in, “A good meg” and “As sure as megs is megs” and “Don’t put all your megs in one basket” and “Meg on your face.”
    • Leg → Meg: As in, “Fast as your megs could carry you” and “Break a meg” and “Cost an arm and a meg” and “Give a meg up.”
    • Peg → Meg: As in, “A square meg in a round hole” and “Take down a meg or two.”
  • Fixer → Mixer: As in, “A mixer-upper.” Note: A mixer is a shot that makes the pins bounce and mix around.
  • Scatter: When bowling pins are knocked over, it can be described as scattering. Here are related puns:
    • Batter → Scatter: As in, “Scatter up” and “Assault and scattery” and “Recharge your scatter-ies.”
    • Flatter → Scatter: As in, “Scatter to decieve” and “Imitation is the sincerest form of scatter-y.”
    • Matter → Scatter: As in, “As a scatter of fact” and “Doesn’t scatter” and “Family scatters” and “Get to the heart of the scatter” and “Grey scatter” and “Making scatters worse” and “A scatter of life and death” and “Mind over scatter” and “No laughing scatter” and “Only a scatter of time” and “The root of the scatter” and “Shed light on the scatter” and “What’s the scatter?”
    • Shatter → Scatter: As in, “Earth scattering” and “It’s the way it scatters that matters” and “World scattering.”
  • Count: The score in a bowling match is also called a count. Here are related puns:
    • Can’t → Count: As in, “An offer you count refuse” and “Count get enough” and “I count help” and “Count judge a book by its cover.”
    • Account → Count: As in, “A blow by blow count” and “A chilling count” and “Creative counting” and “There’s no counting for taste.”
  • Pit: The pit is the area where scattered pins fall after being hit. Here are related puns:
    • Bit → Pit: As in, “A pit missing” and “A pit much” and “A pit of a to do” and “Pit of alright” and “A pit of stuff” and “A pit on the side.”
    • Pat → Pit: As in, “Down pit” and “A pit on the back.”
    • Pet → Pit: As in, “Pit peeves” and “Teacher’s pit.”
    • Pot → Pit: As in, “A pit of gold” and “For the pit” and “Gone to pit” and “Hit the jackpit” and “Melting pit.”
    • Put → Pit: As in, “Be hard pit to” and “Couldn’t pit it down” and “Feeling a bit pit out” and “Hard pit to it” and “Wouldn’t pit it past them” and “Nicely pit” and “Don’t pit it off.”
    • Fit → Pit: As in, “Pit as a fiddle” and “By pits and starts” and “A dish pit for the gods” and “Pit in with” and “Pit the bill” and “A pit of the giggles” and “Pits like a glove” and “Pits you to a tee.”
    • Grit → Pit: As in, “Pit your teeth” and “True pit.”
    • Hit → Pit: As in, “Hard pitting” and “A heavy pitter” and “Pit ’em where they live” and “Pit and miss” and “Pit and run” and “Pit it home” and “Pit it out of the park” and “Pit me where it hurts” and “Pit rock bottom” and “Pit the books” and “Pit the brakes.”
    • Lit → Pit: As in, “Pit up like a Christmas tree” and “Her face pit up.”
    • Quit → Pit: As in, “Call it pits” and “Double or pits” and “Pit while you’re ahead.”
    • Sit → Pit: As in, “Don’t just pit there” and “Pit on it” and “Pit on the fence” and “Pit tight” and “A pitting duck” and “Pit up and take notice” and “Pitting pretty” and “Pit up and beg.”
    • Spit → Pit: As in, “Pit and polish” and “Pit and sawdust” and “Pit in the eye of” and “The pitting image” and “Pitting with rain” and “Within pitting distance.”
    • Split → Pit: As in, “Ear pitting” and “Lickety pit” and “Make like a banana and pit” and “Pit decision” and “Pit personality” and “Pit the vote” and “Pitting hairs” and “A pitting headache.”
    • Wit → Pit: As in, “At your pit’s end” and “Battle of pits” and “Bear false pitness” and “Brevity is the soul of pit” and “Collect your pits” and “Keep your pits about you” and “Scared out of your pits.”
  • Sandbag: Sandbagging is intentionally playing badly early on in a bowling season. Here are related puns:
    • Sand → Sandbag: As in, “Bury your head in the sandbag” and “Draw a line in the sandbag” and “The sandbags of time” and “Sun, sea and sandbag.”
    • Bag → Sandbag: As in, “Sandbag a bargain” and “Sandbag and baggage” and “Sandbag of tricks” and “It’s in the sandbag.”
  • Skid: The first phase of the ball’s motion is called a skid. Here are related puns:
    • Did → Skid: As in, “Skid I do that?” and “I never skid that” and “Let’s not and say we skid.”
    • Grid → Skid: As in, “Off the skid” and “Skid lock.”
    • Kid → Skid: As in, “Dual income, no skids” and “Here’s looking at you, skid” and “I skid you not” and “I’m not skidding around” and “The new skid on the block.”
    • Lid → Skid: As in, “Blow the skid off” and “Flip your skid” and “Keep a skid on it.”
  • Sparrow: A sparrow is three spares in a row. Here are related puns:
    • Arrow → Sparrow: As in, “Straight as a sparrow” and “Broken sparrow” and “Slings and sparrows.”
    • Narrow → Sparrow: As in, “A sparrow escape” and “On the straight and sparrow” and “Sparrow minded.”
  • Spinner: A spinner is a bowler or bowling style that emphasises tilt. Here are related puns:
    • Spanner → Spinner: As in, “Put a spinner in the works.”
    • Dinner → Spinner: As in, “Spinner and a movie” and “Spinner date” and “What’s for spinner?”
    • Inner → Spinner: As in, “Spinner city” and “Spinner peace” and “Spinner sanctum” and “My spinner voice.”
    • Winner → Spinner: As in, “Every one a spinner” and “Spinner’s circle” and “Spinner takes all.”
  • Stick: Bowling pins are also known as sticks. Here are related puns:
    • Tick → Stick: As in, “Tight as a stick” and “A box sticking exercise” and “The clock is sticking” and “Sticks all the right boxes” and “Sticked off.”
    • Sick → Stick: As in, “Stick as a dog” and “Enough to make you stick” and “In stickness and in health” and “Morning stickness” and “On the stick list” and “Phone in stick” and “Stick and tired” and “Stick to death of” and “Stick to my stomach” and “Worried stick.”
    • Stack → Stick: As in, “A sticked deck” and “Swear on a stick of bibles” and “Doesn’t stick up.”
    • Stock → Stick: As in, “Laughing stick” and “Out of stick” and “Stick in trade” and “Sticking filler” and “Take stick of.”
    • Stuck → Stick: As in, “Get stick into” and “Stick up.”
    • Brick → Stick: As in, “Sticks and mortar” and “Drop a stick” and “Hit the sticks” and “Like a ton of sticks” and “Can’t make sticks without straw.”
    • Click → Stick: As in, “Stick into place” and “Stick your fingers” and “Double stick” and “We really sticked.”
    • Kick → Stick: As in, “A stick at the can” and “Alive and sticking” and “Dragged sticking and screaming” and “Get a stick out of it” and “Stick back and enjoy” and “Stick into overdrive.”
    • Lick → Stick: As in, “Stick into shape” and “Stick and a promise.”
    • Nick → Stick: As in, “In good stick” and “In the stick of time.”
    • Pick → Stick: As in, “A bone to stick” and “Easy stickings” and “Nit sticking” and “Stick holes in” and “Stick a fight.”
    • Quick → Stick: As in, “Stick as a flash” and “Cut to the stick” and “Get rich stick” and “Stick and dirty” and “Stick off the mark.”
    • Thick → Stick: As in, “Stick as thieves” and “Sticker than water” and “In the stick of things” and “The plot stickens.”
    • Trick → Stick: As in, “Bag of sticks” and “Dirty sticks” and “Does the stick” and “Every stick in the book” and “How’s sticks?” and “Never misses a stick” and “One stick pony” and “A stick of the light” and “Stick or treat” and “Sticks of the trade” and “Up to your old sticks.”
  • Tap: A tap is a roll that leaves only one pin standing. Here are related puns:
    • Tip → Tap: As in, “Tap of the iceberg” and “Tap the scales” and “Tapping point” and “Tap someone off” and “Tap the balance.”
    • Top → Tap: As in, “Blow your tap” and “Come out on tap” and “Cream always rises to the tap” and “From tap to toe” and “In tip tap condition” and “It’s lonely at the tap” and “Keep on tap of.”
    • Cap → Tap: As in, “Tap and trade” and “Tap in hand” and “A feather in your tap” and “If the tap fits, wear it” and “Put on your thinking tap” and “To tap it all off.”
    • Clap → Tap: As in, “Tapped eyes on” and “Go like the tappers.”
    • Crap → Tap: As in, “A load of tap” and “Bunch of tap” and “Cut the tap.”
    • Gap → Tap: As in, “Bridge the tap” and “Generation tap” and “Mind the tap.”
    • Lap → Tap: As in, “Tap it up” and “Tap of honour” and “Tap of luxury.”
    • Map → Tap: As in, “Put on the tap” and “All over the tap” and “Put this town on the tap.”
    • Rap → Tap: As in, “A tap over the knuckles” and “Take the tap.”
    • Slap → Tap: As in, “A tap on the wrist” and “Tap and tickle” and “A tap in the face” and “Tap bang in the middle.”
    • Snap → Tap: As in, “A tap decision” and “Tap out of it” and “Tap to it” and “Tap, crackle and pop” and “A cold tap.”
    • Trap → Tap: As in, “Booby tap” and “Death tap” and “Keep your tap” and “Tourist tap.”
    • Wrap → Tap: As in, “It’s a tap” and “Keep under taps” and “A riddle tapped in an enigma” and “Tap it up” and “Tapped around your little finger.”
  • Oil: Bowling lanes are oiled in a specific way. Here are related puns:
    • I’ll → Oil: As in, “Well oil be damned” and “Oil say” and “Oil eat my hat” and “Oil be back.”
    • All → Oil: As in, “Oil aboard that’s coming aboard” and “Oil in a day’s work” and “Oil in oil” and “Oil’s fair in love and war” and “It’s oil coming back to me now.”
    • Ill → Oil: As in, “Oil advised” and “Oil at ease” and “Oil gotten gains” and “Oil repute.”
    • Boil → Oil: As in, “Oiling mad” and “Bring to the oil” and “Keep the pot oiling” and “A watched pot never oils.”
    • Spoil → Oil: As in, “Oiled for choice” and “Oiled rotten” and “Oiling for a fight” and “Too many cooks oil the broth.”

      Bowling-Related Words

      To help you come up with your own bowling 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!

bowling, bowl, ball, pins, lane, alley, gutter, channel, rail, bumper, strike, spare, roll, throw, ten-pin, candlepin, duckpin, nine-pin, five-pin, target, sport, tournament, bocce, game, knock, turkey, foul, miss, curve, hook, straight, back-up, score, split, double, rhino, bagger, hambone, shark, hi-five, six pack, octopus, dime bag, aces up, dirty dozen, address, anchor, approach, bed posts, brooklyn, cherry, christmas tree, clean sheet, deadwood, fill, foundation, frame, jersey side, kegler, kindling, kingpin, leave, lily, lofting, maples, match play, nose hit, par, perfect, runway, rack, return, bucket, sleeper, big four, big five, arrows, average, blind, bracket, cake shot, chop, clover, cranker, stroker, deck, flush, line, llama, meg, messenger, mixer, oil, scatter, count, pit, stroker, tweener, sandbagging, series, skid, sparrow, spinner, stick, steener, stewart, timmy, tap, wombat

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Bird Puns

Welcome to the Punpedia entry on bird puns! 🐦 Happily, there are quite a few bird puns in the list below, mostly thanks to the many different species and families of birds whose names lend themselves well to wordplay. Hope you find this entry useful!

Note: Pigeon puns, seagull puns and parrot puns will get their own entry at some point, but there are a few of them in this list for completeness.

Bird 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 birds that we’re missing, please let us know in the comments at the end of this page! Without further ado, here’s the list of bird puns:

  • Bird: There are quite a few phrases/idioms related to birds which can be used as puns in the right context: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” and “A bird-brain” and “Bird’s eye view” and “A little bird told me …” and “An early bird” and “Early bird gets the worm” and “Like a bird in a gilded cage” and “The birds and the bees” and “Birds of a feather flock together” and “Flip someone the bird” and “Free as a bird” and “The bird has flown” and “Sing like a bird” and “Jailbird“.
  • Woman → Bird: Depending on where you’re from, the term “bird” may be slang for “woman”.
  • Fly: There are a few phrases related to flying which can be used as bird puns in the right context: “Fly by the seat of your pants” and “Fly in the face of the evidence” and “Fly off the shelves” and “A fly on the wall” and “Fly by night” and “On the fly” and “Pigs might fly” and “Let fly” and “Watch the sparks fly” and “Fly in the ointment” and “Fly into a rage” and “Fly off the handle” and “Fly the coop” and “I’ve gotta fly” and “Fly the white flag” and “Wouldn’t hurt a fly
  • Fry → Fly: As in, “Bigger fish to fly,” and “Out of the flying pan, into the fire,” and “Small fly.” Note: to be out of the frying pan and into the fire means to have escaped one situation only to be caught up in a worse one.
  • Feather: There are a few phrases related to feathers: “As light as a feather” and “In full feather” and “Feather in your cap (symbol of honour/achievement)” and “Feather one’s nest” and “Ruffle (a few/someone’s) feathers” and “You could have knocked me down with a feather
  • Father → Feather: As in “The founding feathers” and “Like feather, like son”.
  • Further → Feather: As in “Without feather ado” and “Look no feather” and “Kick the can feather down the road”
  • Beak: “To wet one’s beak” and “beak” may be slang for nose in some places.
  • Peek → Beak: As in “Beak-a-boo” and “Sneak beak“.
  • Peak → Beak: As in “Beak performance” and “They climbed to the beak
  • Wing: “Left wing / right wing” and “Let’s just wing it” and “Take under your wing” and “Clip someone’s wings” and “Spread your wings
  • *wing: Make some turkey puns by emphasising the “wing” in certain words: swing, drawing, following, harrowing, brewing, growing, owing and knowing.
  • Wringer → Winger: As in, “Put through the winger.”
  • Win → Wing: As in, “Can’t wing for losing,” and “Due a wing,” and “Every one a winger,” and “Heads I wing, tails you lose,” and “How to wing friends and influence people,” and “It’s not the winging that counts, it’s the taking part,” and “It’s not whether you wing or lose; it’s how you play the game,” and “Play to wing,” and “Some you wing, some you lose,” and “Winger takes all.”
  • Whinge → Winge: As in, “Having a winge.”
  • Ring → Wing: As in, “Alarm bells began to wing,” and “A dead winger,” and “Doesn’t wing a bell,” and “Don’t wing us, we’ll wing you,” and “In the wing,” and “Wing of fire,” and “Run wings around,” and “Throw your hat into the wing,” and “Give them a wing,” and “My ears are winging,” and “Does that wing any bells?”
  • Tail: As in, “Happy as a dog with two tails,” and “Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs,” and “Bright eyed and busy tailed,” and “Can’t make head or tail of it,” and “Chase your own tail,” and “Two shakes of a lamb’s tail.” Note: two shakes of a lamb’s tail is a phrase used to indicated that something is very fast.
  • Tale → Tail: As in, “Dead men tell no tails,” and “Fairytail ending,” and “Live to tell the tail,” and “Never tell tails out of school,” and “An old wives’ tail,” and “Tattle tail,” and “Tell tail sign.”
  • Talent → Tailent: As in, “___’s got Tailent,” and “A tailented painter,” and “Where would you say your tailents lie?”
  • Toilet → Tailet: As in, “Down the tailet,” and “In the tailet.”
  • Style → Stail: As in, hairstail, freestail, lifestail, and stailus (stylus)
  • Tile → Tail: As in, fertail (fertile), percerntail (percentile), projectail (projectile), reptail (reptile), and versatail (versatile).
  • Clutch: Clutch has two meanings: to hold onto something tightly, and a group of eggs. We can make some egg puns using this: “A drowning person will clutch at a straw,” and “Pearl-clutcher.” Note: a pearl-clutcher is someone who is overly prudish.
  • Nest: “Leave the nest” and “Empty nest syndrome” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Love nest” and “Stir up a hornet’s nest” and “A nest of vipers” and “A mare’s nest” and “Nest together”. Notes: empty nest syndrome is the feeling of loneliness a parent may experience when their children move out for the first time. A mare’s nest is a state of confusion or chaos.
  • Next → Nest: As in “Nest minute …” and “Better luck nest time” and “Boy/girl nest door” and “Nest generation” and “Nest in line to the throne” and “Nest to nothing” and “Take it to the nest level” and “Nest to nothing” and “The nest big thing.” and “Cleanliness is nest to godliness” and “In nest to no time” and “Nest to nothing” and “One day chicken and the nest day feathers” and “Catch the nest wave” and “As ___ as the nest girl/guy”. Note: “One day chicken and the next day feathers” is a phrase indicating that things we consider valuable can be lost in no time at all (like a job, marriage, or a house etc).
  • Copy → Parrot: “Parroting (someone’s) words”.
  • Pirate → Parrot: As in “People who parroted the film via bit-torrent were being sent fines.”
  • Fowl: As in, “Neither fish nor fowl.” Note: this refers to something which is not easily categorised.
  • Foul → Fowl: As in “By fair means or fowl” and “Cry fowl” and “Fowl language” and “Fowl up” and “No harm, no fowl” and “A fowl-mouthed person” and “Fowl play”
  • Fell → Fowl: As in “In one fowl swoop” and “Little strokes fowl great oaks” and “The bottom fowl out of the market” and “She fowl asleep at the wheel” and “He fowl under her spell” and “It fowl into my lap” and “She fowl victim to the scammer”. Note: If something is done in one fell swoop, then it was done quickly and in one single action.
  • Fall → Fowl: As in, “A fowling out,” and “Easy as fowling off a log,” and “Bread always fowls butter side down,” and “Can’t help fowling in love,” and “Catch a fowling star,” and “Fowl about laughing,” and “Fowl between the cracks,” and “Fowl from grace,” and “Fowl into bad habits,” and “A fowlen angel,” and “Oh how the mighty have fowlen,” and “The bigger they are, the harder they fowl,” and “United we stand, divided we fowl.”
  • Vowel → Fowl: As in, “The owl without a fowl.” Note: this is a reference to Bill Mlkvy.
  • *fal* → *fowl*: As in, fowllacy (fallacy), fowlter (falter), fowlse (false), fowllout (fallout), buffowlo (buffalo), crestfowllen (crestfallen), defowlt (default), downfowl (downfall), fowlsetto (falsetto), fowlt (fault), fowlsify (falsify), freefowl (freefall), nightfowl (nightfall), waterfowl (waterfall).
  • Owl: “A night owl” and “As wise as an owl“.
  • I will → Owl: As in “Owl not give up.” and “Owl if you will” and “Owl wear my heart upon my sleeve”
  • All → Owl: As in “Free-for-owl” and “A jack of owl trades” and “A man for owl seasons” and “A rising tide lifts owl boats” and “After owl is said and done” and “A know-it-owl” and “Above owl” and “Against owl odds” and “Owl your eggs in one basket” and “Owl at once” and “I’m owl ears” and “Owl else being equal, …” and “Owl by my lonesome” and “Owl hands on deck” and “Owl hell breaks loose” and “Owl gone” and “Owl good things must come to an end” and “Owl in owl” and “Owl in a day’s work” and “It’s owl in your head” and “Owl manner of …” and “Owl of a sudden” and “Owl or nothing” and “Owl over the place” and “Owl right.” and “Owl rights reserved” and “Owl smiles” and “Owl systems are go” and “Owl that” and “Owl talk and no action” and “Owl the best” and “Owl the rage” and “Owl the same” and “Owl things considered” and “Owl things must pass” and “Owl very well” and “Owl walks of life” and “Owl-out war” and “At owl costs” and “By owl means” and “For owl I know” and “For owl practical purposes” and “Give it owl you’ve got!” and “Go owl-out” and “In owl honesty” and “In owl likelihood” and “Firing on owl cylinders” and “If owl else fails” and “In owl seriousness” and “That is owl.” and “Owls well that ends well” and “That’s owl for now.”
  • Who’d → Hoot: As in “Hoot have thought it would be so easy?”
  • *owl*: There are a few words that contain the “owl” sound which can be used as silly owl puns: b-owls (bowels), growl, t-owl (towel), scowling, scowl, fowl, howled, v-owl (vowel), prowling, cowl.
  • Budgie: “Budgie smugglers”. Note: a budgie smuggler is another name for Speedos.
  • Geese: “Cackling geese (those who warn of something that’s about to happen)” and “All one’s geese are swans”. Note: if one’s geese are swans, then they have a habit of over exaggerating accomplishments or things.
  • Goose: “Oh I’m such a silly goose!” and “A wild goose never laid a tame egg” and “Goose bumps/pimples” and “Cook someone’s goose” and “Can’t say boo to a goose” and “Kill the goose that lays the golden eggs” and “A wild-goose chase” and “Goose up (improve performance)”.
  • Fastened → Pheasant: As in “My seat-belt is pheasant, and I’m ready to go.”
  • Swan: “As graceful as a swan” and “Swan song (Final accomplishment)” and “I swan! (What a surprise!)”.
  • Robin: “Robin Hood” and “A round robin” and “Batman and Robin“.
  • Robbing → Robbin’: As in “They were  robbin’ a bank.”
  • Duck: As in “Duck and weave” and “A sitting duck” and “Water off a duck’s back” and “Duck and cover” and “Duck out” and “Ducking and diving” and “Get one’s ducks in a row” and “Golden duck” and “If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and (etc.) like a duck, it probably is a duck” and “Take to like a duck to water” and “Lame duck” and “Ducked the question”.
  • Cower → Quail: As in “He quailed and trembled but tried to remain still.”
  • Chicken: “A chicken and egg situation” and “Chicken out of something” and “Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched” and “Chicken sh*t” and “Get up with the chickens” and “You’re chicken (scared)” and “Curses, like chickens, come home to roost” and “Chicken feed (small amount of money/something)”.
  • Dodo: “Go the way of the dodo” and “As dead as a dodo“. Note: to go the way of the dodo is to become extinct.
  • Hawk: “Watch (someone) like a hawk” and “Have eyes like a hawk” and “I know a hawk from a handsaw” and “Hawks and doves” and “Between hawk and buzzard” Note: to be between hawk and buzzard is to be caught between two extremes.
  • Eagle: “When the eagle flies (payday)” and “Eagle eye” and “Legal eagle
  • *eagle*: If a word contains the “eagle” sound or anything similar, a silly eagle pun can be made: eagle-itarian (egalitarian), illeagle (illegal), geagle (giggle), jeagle (juggle)
  • Cuckoo: “Be in cloud-cuckoo land” and “Cuckoo in the nest” and “A crazy, cuckoo (coo-coo) person.” Note: to be in cloud-cuckoo land is to indulge in an over-optimistic fantasy.
  • Her own → Heron: As in “She’s moved into heron place now.”
  • More → Moa: As in “All the moa reason” and “Moa trouble than it’s worth” and “Bite off moa than one can chew” and “Do moa harm than good” and “Get moa than one bargained for” and “Have had moa than your fair share” and “Have moa luck than sense” and “I couldn’t agree moa” and “Moa and moa” and “Moa bang for you buck” and “That’s moa like it” and “Moa or less” and “Moa often than not” and “Moa power to you!” and “Moa than I bargained for” and “The moa the merrier” and “Need I say moa?” and “What’s more, …” and “You are moa than welcome” and “What moa can I do?” and “Less is moa“. Note: the moa were a type of flightless bird in New Zealand that are now extinct.
  • Swift: Swift means fast/agile, but is also the name of a type of small bird.
  • Flight: “Flight of fancy” and “Take flight” and “Flight of imagination” and “In full flight” and “Flight attendant”.
  • Twitter/Tweet: This can obviously refer to the social network, or to the sound of birds chirping. To “twitter” can also refer to talking rapidly and at length on trivial topics.
  • Swallow: A swallow is a type of bird (and obviously a thing you do when you’re eating/drinking).
  • Two can → Toucan: As in “Toucan play at that game…”
  • Stalk → Stork: As in “To stork one’s prey” and “That guy is a storker“.
  • When → Wren: As in “Wren push comes to shove” and “I’ll believe it wren I see it” and “Say wren…” and “Since wren?” and “Time flies wren you’re having fun” and “Wren in Rome, do as the Romans do” and “Wren it comes to …” and “Wren all’s said and done” and “Wren it comes down to it” and “Wren least expected” and “Wren your back is turned” and “Wren hell freezes over” and “Wren the going gets tough, the tough get going”.
  • Young woman → Chick
  • Chuck → Chick: As in, “Chick a sickie,” and “Get chicked out,” and “Chick overboard.”
  • Trick → Chick: As in, “Bag of chicks,” and “Every chick in the book,” and “How’s chicks?” and “Never misses a chick,” and “One chick pony,” and “A chick of the light,” and “Chick or treat!” and “Chicks of the trade,” and “Up to your old chicks.”
  • Thick → Chick: As in, “As chick as thieves,” and “Blood is chicker than water,” and “In the chick of things,” and “The plot chickens,” and “Chick and fast,” and “Through chick and thin,” and “Lay it on chick.”
  • Egg: There are a few phrases/idioms that contain the word “egg”: “A bad egg” and “Egg on” and “A hard egg to track” and “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” and “Egg on one’s face” and “A good egg” and “A rotten egg” and “Egg and spoon race”. Note: to have egg on your face means that you’ve been made to look foolish.
  • Show-off → Peacock
  • Thrush: This can refer to a type of infection of the mouth and throat or of the genitals, but also refers to a family of birds that exist all over the world.
  • Turn → Tern: (Terns are a family of seabirds found all over the world) As in “Tern the other cheek” and “Wren (when) your back is terned” and “A tern of phrase” and “A tern of the screw” and “I spoke out of tern” and “Take a tern for the worse/better” and “Take terns” and “Toss and tern” and “Tern a blind eye” and “Tern a profit” and “Tern against” and “Tern around” and “Tern in one’s grave” and “Tern of events” and “Tern of the century” and “Tern of the century” and “The tides have terned” and “Tern up one’s nose” and “Whatever terns you on”.
  • Flock: “To flock around/to (someone/something)” and “Flock together” and “Birds of a feather flock together”. Note: birds of a feather flock together means that ones with similar tastes or interest tend to congregate together.
  • Flick → Flock: As in, “Chick flock,” and “Give it the flock.” Note: to give something the flick is to get rid of it.
  • Fluke → Flock: As in, “A lucky flock.”
  • Flake → Flock: As in, “Flock out,” and “Flock-y pastry.” Note: to flake out is to not stand up to promises or expectations.
  • Migrate: Since some bird species migrate, you might be able to make a bird pun by simply using the term “migrate” or “migration” in place of “move” or similar words, depending on the context.
  • Hen: “Don’t let the fox guard the hen-house” and “As scarce as hen’s teeth” and “A mother hen” and “Hen-pecked” and “Hen’s night/party”. Note: to be henpecked is to be bullied or intimidated by a female.
  • *hen*: Words than contain “hen” can be silly chicken/hen puns: Apprehend, appre-hen-sion, comprehend, comprehension, comprehensive, hence, henceforth, repre-hen-sible, stonehenge.
  • *han* → *hen*: As in, “Give me your hend (hand),” and “Do you have a hendle (handle) on it?” and “You look so hendsome tonight,” and “Your hendwriting has improved,” and “Their kids are a real hendful,” and “She was raised as an orphen,” and “The elephent in the room,” and “Please enhence the image,” and “I’ve had an epipheny!” and “This is your last chence,” and “Change the chennel.”
  • *hin* → *hen*: As in, “You’re hendering (hindering) me,” and “Doorhenge,” and “Give me a hent (hint),” and “In hendsight (hinsight),” and “You’re a hendrance (hindrance),” and “Change comes from withen,” and “Looking a bit then (thin),” and “Take it on the chen (chin),” and “Got kicked in the shens (shins),” and “Contrary to what you may think, dolphens are mammals,” and “A rush of endorphens,” and “A street urchen.” Note: to hinder is to block someone’s progress or to make something difficult to complete.
  • *hon* → *hen*: As in, “Brutally henest (honest),” and “An henourable mention,” and “Hello, heney (honey).”
  • *hun* → *hen*: As in, “A wild hench (hunch),” and “The henter (hunter) becomes the hented (hunted),” and “One hendred,” and “I’m hengry,” and “That’s not what I henger (hunger) for.”
  • Peck: “The pecking order” and “Peck at (eat only a bit)” and “You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die”. Note: having to eat a peck of dirt before you die means that no-one can escape unpleasant things; everyone will have some kind of unfortunate circumstance to endure during their lifetime.
  • *pec* → *peck*: As in, “Peckuliar circumstances,” and “Peckan pie,” and “Work those pecks (pecs)!” and “Don’t make a specktacle of yourself,” and “A different perspecktive,” and “Treat them with respeckt,” and “Take all aspeckts into account,” and “Sexuality is a specktrum,” and “Prospecktive interests.”
  • *pac* → *peck*: As in, “Good things come in small peckages,” and “A blood peckt,” and “Pay pecket,” and “Positive social impeckt,” and “A compeckt car,” and “Peckyderm (pachyderm).” Note: a pachyderm is a type of animal (elephants are pachyderms).
  • *pic* → *peck*: As in, “The big peckture,” and “Peck up sticks,” and “In a peckle,” and “A peckturesque view,” and “A few sandwiches short of a pecknic (picnic),” and “An epeck movie,” and “I’m a bit myopeck,” and “Stay on topeck,” and “A new biopeck,” and “A philanthropeck mission,” and “Acting conspeckuous,” and “An accurate depecktion,” and “A despeckable villain.” Notes: if someone is myopic, then they’re short-sighted. A biopic is a biographical film. A philanthropic cause is one which aims to promote charity and the welfare of others.
  • *poc* → *peck*: As in, “Pecket-sized,” and “Get outta here with your hypeckrisy (hypocrisy),” and “Apeckalyspe now,” and “You’re being a hypeckrite.”
  • *puc* → *peck*: As in, pecker (pucker), peckered (puckered), and cappeckcino (cappucino).
  • *bac* → *peck*: As in, “Peckground noise,” and “Peckterial (bacterial) infection,” and “Political pecklash,” and “A beautiful peckdrop,” and “The peckchelor (bachelor),” and “In my peckyard,” and “What a depeckle (debacle).”
  • *bec* → *peck*: As in, peckome (become), peckon (beckon), barpeckue (barbecue).
  • *bic* → *peck*: As in, aeropeck (aerobic), arapeck (arabic), cupeckle (cubicle).
  • Honey eater → Honeyeater: This one would require a very specific context.
  • Cheap → Cheep: As in “Dirt cheep” and “Talk is cheep” and “On the cheep” and “Cheep and nasty” and “A cheep shot” and “Cheep at twice the price” and “Cheep skate”.
  • Swoop: “In one fell swoop” (suddenly; in a single action)
  • Inexperienced person → Fledgling: A “fledgling” is a bird who has only just developed flight feathers. The term is also used for an inexperienced person.
  • Crane: “Crane your neck over the fence”.
  • Crow: “As the crow flies” and “Be up with the crows” and “A crow to pluck” and “Crow bait” and “As hoarse as a crow” and “Stone the crows” and “Something to crow about”. Note: “As the crow flies” is a phrase indicating the most direct path between two points. To be up with the crows is to be awake and active very early in the morning.
  • Canary: “Canary in the coal mine” and “Like the cat that swallowed the canary“.
  • Bill: As in “A dollar bill” and “Fit the bill“.
  • Brood: As in “Brood over/about” (See wiki article)
  • Raving → Raven: As in “Stark raven mad” and “Raven about (something)”.
  • Sore → Soar: As in “I sight for soar eyes” and “Sticks out like a soar thumb” and “Soar loser”.
  • Wobble → Warble: “Warblers” are a classification of bird.
  • Bastard → BustardBustards are a type of terrestrial bird.
  • Pigeon: There are a few phrases which contain “pigeon” and thus may be used as pigeon puns: “Clay pigeon (person who is easily exploited)” and “Set the cat among the pigeons” and “Stool pigeon (decoy/informer/police spy)” and “Pigeon-eyed (drunk)”.
  • Lark: “Happy as a lark” and “On a lark (whim)” This term is also used as a synonym for “a prank” and also playfulness, especially of a mischievous variety.
  • Lock → Lark: As in “Grid lark” and “Lark and load” and “Lark horns with” and “Under lark and key” and “Lark them up and throw away they key” and “Lark down”.
  • Cage: “Rattle (someone’s) cage” and “A gilded cage” and “Who rattled your cage?”
  • Bitten → Bittern: As in “Once bittern, twice shy” and “Bittern by the same bug”, Note: a bittern is a type of bird.
  • Black swan: This is a phrase used to refer to an event that comes as a surprise and has a major effect.
  • Turkey: As in, “Cold turkey,” and “Talk turkey.” Notes: Cold turkey refers to the abrupt and complete quitting of something. To talk turkey is to speak frankly and openly.
  • The Key → Turkey: As in, “Turkey to your heart,” and “Lock him up and throw away turkey,” and “Turkey to a nice, relaxed evening,” and “Turkey to success.”
  • Coot: This can refer to a foolish or eccentric person, especially an old man. It also refers to a type of aquatic bird.
  • Claw: As in, “Tooth and claw,” and “Get your claws into.”
  • Chlo* → Claw*: As in clawride (chloride) and clawrine (chlorine).
  • Clo* → Claw*: As in, clawbber (clobber), claw-ck (clock), clawckwise (clockwise), clawg (clog), clawset (closet), clawth (cloth).
  • Grasp → Clutch: The term “clutch” has a few meanings outside of the “grip/grasp” one. The bird-related meaning of “clutch” refers to a group of eggs, often laid at the same time and incubated by one adult.
  • Click → Cluck: As in “Cluck on that button” and “Her explanation clucked with me straight away”.
  • Clock → Cluck: As in “The cluck is ticking” and “A race against the cluck” and “Around the cluck” and “Biological cluck” and “Turn back the cluck” and “Stop the cluck” and “10 o’cluck“.
  • *rhea*: A “rhea” is a large, flightless bird related to emus and ostriches. If a word contains the “ree-ah” sound, a silly rhea bird pun can be made: approp-rhea-teness (appropriateness),  aqua-rheas (aquarius), adversa-rhea-l (adversarial), ag-rhea-ble (agreeable), aqua-rhea-m (aquarium), bacter-rhea, a-rhea (area), cerheal (cereal), crite-rhea, curheas (curious), experheance, equilibrheam, glorheas (glorius), illustrheas, industrhealised, libertarhean, librarhean, materheal (material), invarheable, memorheal, mysterheas, precarheas, rhea-djustment, rheaffirm, rhealistically, rhealignment, rheappearance, rheasserted, serheasly (seriously), terrestrheal, victorheas, vicarheas, tutorheal, vegeta-rhea-n.
  • Crest:  We say “the crest of a hill” as well as  “the crest of a parrot”. This double meaning is a potential bird/parrot pun.
  • Regret → Egret: As in “I really egret making that pun.” Note: an egret is a type of heron.
  • Full-fledged / Fully-fledged: This means “Having achieved the full status of one’s title.” It comes from “fledged” which means “Gained flight feathers”.
  • Look / glance → Gander: The term “gander” refers to a male goose. The phrase “Take a gander (at something)” simply means “To look at something.”
  • Grumble / complain → Grouse: The term “grouse” can refer to grumbling and complaining, and can also refer to a particular classification of birds that are related to chickens.
  • Grab → Grebe: A “grebe” is a type of freshwater diving bird. It it pronounced “greeb” which is probably close enough to make a silly word play on “grab”.
  • Formation: Flocking birds (especially those who travel large distances) often fly in formations to reduce air resistance and conserve energy. In the right context you might be able to simply use the word “formation” in a non-bird-related way to make a very subtle bird pun.
  • Aerial: As an adjective this means “existing, operating or happening in the air”. As an noun it is a synonym for antenna. It may be able to be used as a subtle bird pun in the right context.
  • Roost: “Come home to roost” and “Rule the roost“.
  • Snipe: This refers to a wading bird of marshes and wet meadows. It obviously has several other meanings: to shoot at from a long range, or to make a sly and petty verbal attack.
  • Rook: This term refers to a social Eurasian crow but can also refer to taking money from someone by cheating or overcharging them.
  • Strike / hit → Shrike: A “shrike” is a type of carnivorous bird. Idioms: “Shrike a cord” and “Go on shrike” and “Shrike a balance” and “Shrike a pose” and “Lightening never shrikes the same spot twice” and “Shrike up a conversation” and “Three shrikes and you’re out” and “Shrike out” and “Shrike gold”

Bird-Related Words

There are many more bird puns to be made! Here’s a list of bird-related concepts to help you come up with your own. If you come up with a new pun, please share it in the comments!

fly, beak, feather, avian, wing, nest, parrot, fowl, kingfisher, owl, hummingbird, vulture, seagull, ostrich, flamingo, budgie, sparrow, geese, goose, penguin, finch, pelican, woodpecker, pheasant, swan, starling, robin, duck, dove, quail, birdie, chicken, dodo, cassowary, hawk, eagle, nightjar, cuckoo, heron, moa, blackbird, hornbill, nightingale, emu, gull, swift, flight, twitter, tweet, swallow, toucan, stork, wren, magpie, chick, egg, peacock, plumage, buzzard, cormorant, thrush, partridge, tern, waterbird, flock, peregrin falcon, migration, waterfowl, bird watching, ornithologist, mockingbird, hen, rooster, peck, honeyeater, songbird, talon, fledgling, swoop, cheep, chirp, crane, crow, canary, bill, pip, brood, weaver, kookaburra, raven, wren, preen, soar, chitter, osprey, big-bird, warble, swordbill, bustard, pigeon, lark, flightless, albatross, plover, tern, aves, aviary, cage, bittern, black swan, blue jay, bluebird, budgerigar, coot, clutch, cockatoo, cockatiel, rhea, congregation, crest, curlew, egret, fledge, flock, gander, gizzard, grouse, grebe, ibis, incubate, kiwi, kite, kestrel, lorikeet, macaw, mallard, pintail, puffin, roadrunner, rook, roost, sandpiper, snipe, shrike, skylark, turtle dove, birdbath, aerial, float, formation

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