shark – Punpedia

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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Ocean Puns

Welcome to the Punpedia entry on ocean puns! 🌊 Whether you’re after some puns for your beach party invites, instagram captions, or you just like puns about the sea, I hope this entry serves you well. There’s word play around all sorts of ocean-related concepts including wave puns, seashell puns, sand puns and lots more. This entry has a lot in common with the beach puns, water puns and fish puns entries, so check them out if you don’t find what you’re looking for here 🙂

Ocean 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 the ocean 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 ocean puns:

Specific → Pacific: As in “You need to be more pacific.” and “Are you sure you have the pacifications for this?” and “Pacifically, there are two apples and three nectarines”.
*ways → *waves: Words than end in “ways” can be made into bad wave puns: alwaves (always), railwaves (railways), sidewaves, pathwaves, lengthwaves, doorwaves.
Waive → Wave: As in, “Could you wave this parking ticket?” Note: to waive something is to refrain from enforcing.
Sway → S-wave: As in, “S-wave with me,” and “You don’t hold any s-wave here.” Note: to hold sway is to have a position of influence or power.
Surf: “Surf the net”
Serve → Surf: As in “First come, first surfed” and “If memory surfs” and “Revenge is a dish best surfed cold” and “Surfs you right”
Service → Surfice: As in, “A better surfice all round,” and “At your surfice,” and “Normal surfice has been resumed,” and “Out of surfice.”
Wave: “Wave goodbye” and “Mexican wave” and “Heat wave” and “Wave the white flag” and “Brain waves“
Title → Tidal: As in “I like it, but I’m not sure on the tidal” and “Use ‘Ms.’ as her tidal” and “The championship tidal match is tomorrow morning.”
Tied → Tide: As in “I’m tide up at the moment, can someone else help?” and “Yep, they tide the knot!”
Passivist → Pascificist: As in “I’m a pascificst. Violence is never the answer.”
Atlantic: There is a well-known newspaper called “The Atlantic”, which might be used to make an Atlantic ocean pun somehow.
Deep: “Deep and meaningful” and “Deep, dark secret” and “Go off the deep end” and “In deep water” and “Skin deep” and “Thrown into the deep end”
Total → Turtle: As in “A turtle stranger”
Tidy → Tidey: As in “After the party we need to tidey the beach.”
Send → Sand: As in “It sands shivers down my spine!” and “Sand him over here.”
San* → Sand*: Replacing “san” with “sand” when it is at the start of a word give some nice corny puns: sanditary (sanitary), sandctioned (sanctioned), sandctuary (sanctuary), sandguine (sanguine), sandctions (sanctions).
Stand → Sand: As in, “Don’t sand so close to me,” and “Do you undersand?” and “Don’t just sand there!” and “I saw her sanding there,” and “My hair was sanding on end,” and “If you can’t sand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” and “It sands to reason,” and “A one night sand,” and “Sand on your own two feet,” and “Sand out from the crowd,” and “Sand up and be counted,” and “Sand up for yourself,” and “A sand up guy,” and “Do I sand a chance?” and “I sand corrected,” and “I’m sanding in for…” and “I can’t sand the sight of,” and “I could do it sanding on my head,” and “United we sand.”
Not → Naut: As in “I’m naut going to keep arguing with you”.
Naughty → Nauty: As in “There’s that nauty sailor again”.
Gullible → Seagullible: As in “Kyani is so seagullible!”
Crazy → Cray-sea: As in “He is so craysea!” and “Enough of this crayseaness!”. Hyphen is, of course, optional.
Wish → Fish: As in “I just fish we had more time!” and “If you rub the lamp you get three fishes“.
About/Abode → Aboat: As in “What aboat the captain?” and “Welcome to my aboat!”
Sooner → Schooner: As in “Schooner or later.” and “I’ll call her schoon“. A “schooner” is a sailing ship with two or more masts. See the boat puns entry for more.
Sel* → Sail*: If a word starts with “sel” a boat pun can often be made by replacing it with “sail”: sailection (selection), sailect (select), sailf (self), sailling (selling), sail (sell), saildom (seldom), sailfish (selfish), sailfless (selfless), sailective (selective).
Bae → Bay: As in “Bay! Please stop with the ocean puns, you’re embarrassing me.”
Bitch → Beach: As in “Those beaches don’t know me!” and “He says you were being a bit beachy“.
Combine → Combrine: As in “With our power combrined we should be able to defeat them.” and “It’s what you get when you combrine salt and water”. Similar puns can be made for most words ending in “bine”: turbrine (turbine), concubrine (concubine), columbrine (columbine).
Sure → Shore: As in “Are you shore?” and “She shore is strong!” and “I shore will.”
Whatever → Waterever: As in “Waterever, I don’t care.” and “Do waterever you want”.
What her → Water: As in “I know water problem is.” and “Do you know water mother thinks about this?”.
What do → Water: As in “Water you think about this?”
What about → Water boat: As in “Water boat we have tofu curry for dinner tonight?” and “Water boat Ching? Does she want to come to the beach too?”
What are → Water: “Water you doing out so late tonight?” and “Water you doing tomorrow?”
What are we → Watery: As in “Watery going to do?” and “Watery doing today, friends?”
Salt: “Take it with a pinch/grain of salt” and “Rub salt in the wound” and “Worth one’s salt“
Salty: “You’re just salty because I beat you at chess earlier.”
Boy → Buoy: As in “It’s a buoy!” and “His buoyfriend is a nice person”.
See → Sea: As in, “As far as the eye can sea” and “Can’t sea beyond the end of your nose” and “Can’t sea the wood for the trees” and “Come and sea me sometime.”
She → Sea: As in, “Ain’t sea sweet?” and “Sea doesn’t belong to anyone.”
Say → Sea: “As the sea-ing goes” and “Computer seas no” and “Have the final sea” and “I’m hearing what you sea.”
Sea*: Most words starting with “sea” are easy sea puns: season, seasonal, seated, searingly, sealants, seam, seatbelt.
See* → Sea*: If a word starts with “see” it can often be replaced with “sea” to create a simple sea pun: seaminly, seads, seaker, seathe, seap, seak, sean, sea (see).
Sealant / Sealing / Seal: Easy seal puns can be made with words starting with “seal” (e.g. sealant, seal) or “ceil” (e.g. sealing).
Se* → Sea*: Some words that start with just “se” also have a “sea”-ish sound, and the ones that don’t can usually be made into terrible puns anyway: seacret, searious, seargeant, seacretion, seacure, seacurity, seacondary, seacretariat, seaconds, seacrete, searum, searenity, searvitude, seanile, seadation, seaclusion, seacretive, seaze, seaquential, sealection, seacretly, seaquences, seanior, seaniority, seagregate, seaping, seacession, seariousness, seaminars, seaveral, seaxual, seaparation, seantimental, seansational, seaquential, seacluded, seacularist, seathing, seaquin, seasame, seaclusion.
Se*cy/Ce*cy → Sea*sea: Most words that start with “se” or “ce” and end with “cy” can be double sea puns: seacresea (secrecy), sealibasea (celibacy).
*cy → *sea: If a word ends in “cy” it’s an easy “sea” pun: polisea, agensea, democrasea, currensea, emergensea, efficiensea, tendensea, frequensea, fansea, constituensea, pregnansea, accurasea, redundansea, bureaucrasea, presidensea, legasea, conspirasea, mersea, privasea, bankruptsea, consistensea, literasea, urgensea, deficiensea, dependency, consultansea, tenacity, isea (icy), secrecy, intimasea.
Seizure → Seazure: As in “If I read one more ocean pun I’m going to have a seazure.”
Confiscate → Conch-fish-scate: As in “I’m going to have to conchfishcate your pun licence for that one.”
*fici* → *fishi*: If a word contains “fici” it can often be replaced with “fishi”. Here are some examples: affishionado, artifishial, benefishial, coeffishient, defishiency, defishit, ineffishient, suffishient, ofishial, profishient, superfishial.
Issue → Fishue: As in “That’s not the fishue here though.” and “I was fishued a sign for parking without a ticket”.
Net: “net” has two senses: “net weight” and “net income” is one sense, and “fish net” is the other sense.
Bereft → Bereeft: “bereft of” means “deprived of” of “lacking”. So an example sentence might be: “The old, stark beach house of bereefed of colour”.
Enemy → Anemone: As in “They’re my worst anemones” and “Let’s not make anemones of each other!”.
Simmer → Swimmer: As in “I left the pot swimmering and now my vegetable curry is burnt!” and “Hey swimmer down, there’s no need to turn this into a fight”.
*sip* → *ship*: If a word contains “sip” it can usually be replaced with “ship”. For example: gosship (gossip), dishipate (dissipate), shipping (sipping), inshipid (insipid). See the boat puns entry for more.
*sib* → *ship*: If a word contains “sib” it can usually be replaced with “ship” to create a terrible pun. For example: posshiply (possibly), accesshipility (accessibility), incomprehenshiple, feashipble, irresponshipble, invishipble, ostenshipbly, revershipble, vishipble. An example sentence might be: “I am responshiple for my puns.” See the boat puns entry for more.
Kill → Keel: As in “We can be healthy with plants, keeling animals is not necessary.”
Seal: “I sealed the deal” and “Seal of approval” and “Seal your fate”
Island: As in, “No man is an island,” and “Treasure island,” and “A tropical island.”
I land → Island: As in “Islanded a job at that new tech company.”
Aligned → Island: As in and “Our incentives are well-island.”
Choppy: This term is an adjective that describes something that has many abrupt transitions – e.g. “Choppy prose”, but it is also commonly used to describe the ocean when it has many small waves.
Coast: “The coast is clear” and “I’m just coasting“
Pawn/Pwn → Prawn: This pun can be used in the gamer-culture sense: “I got prawned by a pro last night”, in the chess sense “He moved his prawn to C4″, and in the pawnbroker sense: “I had to prawn all my stuff to pay for college.”
Kid* → Squid*: The prefix “kid” can be replaced with “squid” as follows: squidding (kidding), squidnapped (kidnapped), squidney (kidney), squid (kid).
?id* → Squid*: If a word begins with “?id” where ‘?’ represents any letter, then this prefix can sometimes be replaced with “squid”. For example: squiddle (middle), squidlife crisis (midlife crisis), squidget (midget), squiddle (riddle), squidiculous (ridiculous), squideotape (videotape), squiddish (yiddish), squidth (width), squidow (widow), squidget (widget).
Well/Welcome → Whale/Whalecome: As in “Whalecome to our home!” and “Whale, whale, whale, what do we have here?”. Whale puns can be made with many more words like welfare (whalefare), welsh (whalesh) and wellness (whaleness). Check out the entry on whale puns for more.
Wail → Whale: As in “Poor thing, he’s been whaling over his grandmother who recently passed.” and “A good whale can help one overcome grief”.
While → Whale: As in “Whale we agreed on most points, we did have some disagreements.” and “All the whale …” and “Whistle whale you work”.
Help → Kelp: As in “Can you please kelp me build a sand castle?” and “Katie, kelp your brother lift that please”.
Purpose → Porpoise: As in “I didn’t do it on porpoise!” and “Clarity of porpoise” and “What is the porpoise of this?” See the dolphin puns entry for more.
What is → Waters: As in “Waters going on here?” and “Waters the porpoise of this?”
Defin* → Dolphin: As in “We dolphinitely need more time to finish the mission.” and “What is the dolphinition of this word?” and “Please dolphine this word.” and “It’s the dolphinitive source of Nordic history.” See the dolphin puns entry for more.
Endorphines → Endolphins: As in “I love that rush of endolphins you get after a good hard swimming session.”
Humanity → Humanatee: As in “If only we could have some humanatee in our treatment of sea animals” and “Have some humanatee“. Note that terrible puns can also be made of insanity (insmanatee) and profanity (profmanatee).
In* → Fin*: A lovely and shameful pun can be made from any word starting with “in”. Simply replace “in” with “fin”: finformation, finfluence, finvolve, finternational, finvolved, fintroduce, findeed, finvestment, finto, finclude, finteresting, fintellectual, finjury, fintend, finterview, finsurance, finstrument, … Thousand more can be made with the help of a list like this. You can also check out the entry on dolphin puns for more puns of this nature.
Imp* → Shrimp*: If a word starts with “imp”, you can usually replace it with “shrimp”, for example: shrimportant (important), shrimpossible (impossible), shrimply (imply), shrimpose (you get the idea), shrimpose, shrimport, shrimpudent, shrimpact, shrimperfect, shrimpaled, shrimpartial, shrimpart. Shrimp puns probably deserve their own entry, but until then you can use this list to help you.
Symb* → Shrimpb*: Replacing the suffix “symb” with “shrimpb” gives some pleasantly jarring shrimp pins: shrimpbolic (symbolic), shrimpbolises (symbolises), shrimpbiosis (symbiosis).
Should* → Shoald*: A “shoal” can refer to a large group of fish, or an area of shallow water, or an underwater sand bank. We can use “shoal” be used to make puns like: shoald (should), shoalder (shoulder), shoaldering.
Show l* → Shoal: This is a subtle one because it involves a word break. Whenever you use the word “show”, and the following word starts with an “L”, then you can replace “show” with “shoal” (a shoal is a large school of fish). For example: “That’s cool! You should shoal Liam.” and “She laughs when we shoal little blue flowers to her.”.
*tual* → *shoal*: As mentioned above, A “shoal” can refer to a large group of fish, or an area of shallow water, or an underwater sand bank. If a word contains “tual” it can often be replaced with “shoal” for a cute little pun: actshoal (actual), actshoality (actuality), intellectshoal (intellectual), ritshoal (ritual), spiritshoal, mutshoally, eventshoal, eventshoally, conceptshoal, conceptshoalise, virtshoal, contractshoal, factshoal, factshoally, perpetshoal, textshoal, contextshoal, perceptshoal, punctshoal, instinctshoal, actshoally, habitshoally.
*sole → *shoal: As in “The shoal of my shoe is worn down.” and “Your new gaming conshoal is cool.” and “Yeah, he’s a bit of an asshoal.”
More → Moray: As in “Mum, we need moray sunscreen!”.
Mor* → Moor*: Words that begin with the “more” sound can be turned into a pun on the boat-related word, moor (meaning “to tie a boat to the shore or an anchor”): moore, moorning, moortgage, mooral, moortality, moorale, moortar, moorphine, moorgue, moorphologically.
*pear → *pier: As in “Then all of a sudden she dissapiered!” and “After appiering to check his watch, he quickly ran away.” and “That is a sharp spier you’ve got there”.
Brilliant → Krilliant: As in “Isn’t the weather just krilliant today?” Krill are small shrimp-like plankton.
Brilliant → Brill-iant: “Brill” are a type of European flatfish.
Angrily→ Ankrilly: As in “The monster roared ankrilly“.
Hungrily→ Hunkrilly: As in “She hunkrilly ate the sweet potato slices”.
Serf → Surf: A serf was a sort of slave in medieval times who worked for a feudal lord. It’s sometimes used as an insult.
*cial → *shell: When a word has “cial” as a suffix, this suffix can usually be swapped out for “shell” to create a shell pun: soshell (social), speshell (special), offishell (official), finanshell, commershell, crushell, judishell, artifishell, provinshell, rashell, benefishell, superfishell, fashell, glashell, sacrifishel, antisoshell.
Shall→ Shell: As in “Shell I compare thee to a summer’s day?” and “He who lives by the sword shell die by the sword.”
Selfish → Shellfish: As in “Stop being so shellfish.” See the next item for a generalisation of this pun.
Sel* → Shell*: If a word starts with “sel” a shell pun can be made by switching it with “shell”. For example: shellection (selection), shellect (select), shelldom (seldom), shellfless (selfless).
Harbour: As in, “Harbour a grudge,” and “Safe harbour.”
Pier: As in, “Take a long walk off a short pier.”
Peer → Pier: As in, “Pier pressure,” and “Pier-ing through the curtains.”

Ocean-Related Words

Here’s a list of ocean-related concepts to help you come up with your own ocean puns:

wave, surf, beach, water, sea, Arctic, Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, Antarctic, deep, shallow, deep blue, deep sea, ship, dolphin, shark, turtle, whale, fish, starfish, crab, seal, penguin, island, choppy, swell, hydrosphere, mariana trench, coastal, coast, coral, shore, seawater, saltwater, salty, salt, underwater, bay, archipelago, pelagic zone, sea bed, oceanic, marine, kelp, seaward, waters, cape, planktonic, shorline, seashore, lobster, reef, benthic, demersal, aphotic, photic, epipelagic, mesopelagic, liquid, seashell, oceanview, continental shelf, sail, sailing, boat, depths, littoral, bermuda, submerged, driftwood, seaspray, swim, estuary, floating, high seas, tide, sea gull, gull, penguin, shrimp, harbour, high tide, manta ray, transatlantic, oceanic, brine, oceanography, transpacific, canal, seascape, nemo, dory, albatross, barnacle, offshore

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Did you find the ocean-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 ocean pun images? Or perhaps you just want more ocean puns for your photo captions? Whatever the case, please let us know, and help us improve this Punpedia entry. If you’re got any ocean 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 🙂

Shark Puns

Sharks! That’s what this Punpedia entry is all about. Shark puns overlap a little with the entries on dolphin puns, beach puns, water puns, and fish puns, so feel free to check out those articles for some related wordplay. Shark puns often centre around a few key topics: fins, jaws, names of species, and a few other shark-related topics.

As with all entries on Punpedia, if you’ve got a great pun, you can post it in the comments and one of our curators will add it to this entry. And if you’re looking for visual puns, there’s a collection of visual shark puns towards the end of this entry.

Shark Puns List

Each item in this list of shark puns is either a simple word-swap (e.g. Something → Somefin) or it may be a general rule from which multiple puns can be made. In the case of general rules, the asterisk sign (*) represents one or more letters.

Something → Some fin: As in “There’s some fin about the way he walks” and “Is that a fish, or some fin else?”
Nothing → No fin: As in “No fin is better than swimming with dolphins” and “I’ve got no fin left to give!”
Anything → Any fin: As in “Any fin goes.” and “I never said any fin!”
*thing → *fin: Generalising on the “some fin”, “any fin” and “no fin” examples, we can often replace “thing” with “fin” when it occurs at the end of the word: everyfin‘, clo-fin‘ (clothing), breafin‘ (breathing), soo-fin‘ (soothing), scafin‘ (scathing), sunbafin’ (sunbathing), sleufin’ (sleuthing), wrifin’ (writhing), blacksmifin’ (blacksmithing), bequeafin’ (bequeathing), frofin’ (frothing), locksmifin’ (locksmithing), badmoufin’ (badmouthing).
Thin → Fin: As in “Vanished into fin air.” and “You’re skating on fin ice.”
*thin* → *fin*: Some words that contain “thin” can become “fin” puns: airworfiness (airworthiness), freefinkers (freethinkers), newsworfiness (newsworthiness), stealfiness (stealthiness), wealfiness (wealthiness).
Think → Fink: As in “I fink we should stop.”
Thin* → Fin*: If a word begins with “thin”, we can make “fin” puns: finking (thinking), fink (think), finker (thinker), finning (thinning).
Fan* → Fin*: “fan” can sometimes be replaced with “fin” at the start of words to create fin puns: fintastic (fantastic), finciful (fanciful), finfare (fanfare), fintasy, findom, finciful.
Fine/Fin./Find/Fun → Fin: The word “fin” can be used to replace many small words than have both ‘f’ and ‘n’ like “fun” and “find”. The term “fin” also a French word meaning “finish”, and so is sometimes seen at the end of old films and books.
*fin*: If a word contains “fin”, it’s an easy fish pun: affinity, coffin, definitive, definitively, finch, finesse, finish, finished, finnish, finland, infinity, infinitesimal.
In* → Fin*: A lovely and shameful pun can be made from any word starting with “in”. Simply replace “in” with “fin”: finformation, finfluence, finvolve, finternational, finvolved, fintroduce, findeed, finvestment, finto, finclude, finteresting, fintellectual, finjury, fintend, finterview, finsurance, finstrument, … Thousands more can be made with the help of a list like this.
*fici* → *fishi*: If a word contains “fici” it can often be replaced with “fishi”. Here are some examples: affishionado, artifishial, benefishial, coeffishient, defishiency, defishit, ineffishient, suffishient, ofishial, profishient, superfishial.
Issue → Fishue: As in “That’s not the fishue here though.” and “I was fishued a sign for parking without a ticket”.
Killer: As in “These jokes are just killer!” and “Oh wow, that was a killer shark pun you just made.”
Door salesperson → Dorsals-person: As in “Door-to-dorsals people are really annoying.” and “Does anyone actually buy things from dorsalsmen?”
*tail: Sharks have a tail, so if you’re stretching for an extra shark pun, words containing tail like entail, detail, retail and cocktail may just get you over the line.
Dive: As in “The stock market took a dive today,” and “I tried to dive for the ball to intercept it,” and “This relationship has really taken a dive lately.”
Finland: As in “I head Finland has great shark puns.”
Jawdropping → Jawsdropping: “Jaws” is the name of a popular film series about a killer shark.
Yours → Jaws: As in “I didn’t know it was Jaws!” and “I’m all jaws.”
Awesome → Jawsome: As in “Jawsome pun, mate.”
Snappy: As in “That was a snappy comeback!” and “Well, there’s no need to get snappy.”
Chump → Chomp: As in “Yeah, he is a bit of a chomp.”
May co* → Mako*: A mako sharks are a well known category of sharks. Example sentences: “He makome with us if he wants” and “Let’s makonversation to be polite.” There are thousands of terrible shark puns to be made using this formula. See this list of words starting with “co” to help you make your own.
Make a → Mako: As in “I’m trying really hard to mako shark pun here.”
Girl → Gill: As in “Our little gill grew up so fast!”
*gil* → *gill*: If a word contains the “gill” sound, replacing it the letters “gill” is an easy homographic fish pun: gillt (guilt), gillbert (gilbert), gillotine (guillotine), gilld (guild), gilligan, gillded (gilded). We can also make (somewhat more laboured) gill puns by using words with the “jill” sound: a-gill-ity (agility), fra-gill-ity (fragility).
Serration: Shark teeth have evolved to rely on serration to tear manageable chunks from their prey. In the right context this might work as a subtle shark pun.
Reef: Words containing a “reef”-like sound can be made into homographic puns by switching in “reef”: greef (grief), breef (brief), breefcase (briefcase), preefabricated (prefabricated), preefer (prefer), reefill, reeflexes, reefunds, reefurbishment, reefreshed, reefuel, shereef (sheriff), threefold.
Tope: The term “tope” is a verb meaning “to drink alcohol in excess, especially regularly”, and it also refers to a type of small, greyish, slender shark.
Requiem: The term “requiem” refers to an act or token of remembrance, especially a Catholic mass held in remembrance of the dead. The term also refers to a large family of sharks (including tiger sharks, blacktip sharks, and many of the species involved in attacks on humans).
Bonnethead: A bonnethead is a small, harmless shark in the hammerhead family. It sounds like an insult and could be used if you need one with a shark-themed pun: “Stop being such a bonnet head.”
Great white: As in “That’s a great white lie and you know it.” and “Look at that great white cloud!” You may also get away with using “big white” as a more subtle pun.
Frenzy: Sharks are known for their tendency for “feeding frenzies” when hunting in shivers (a group of sharks). Slipping “frenzy” in place of words like these may work as a subtle shark themed pun: hysteria, madness, mania, delirium, feverishness, fever, wildness, agitation, turmoil, tumult, wild, excitement.
Cookie-cutter: A cookie-cutter shark is a species that bites chunks or “plugs” of flesh out of larger marine animals. There is a potential for wordplay with the original definition of “cookie-cutter” and the definition that means “template”.
What an animal → Water animal: As in “Water animal you’ve become.”
*ways → *waves: Words than end in “ways” can be made into bad wave puns: alwaves (always), railwaves (railways), sidewaves, pathwaves, lengthwaves, doorwaves.
*cy → *sea: If a word ends in “cy” it’s an easy “sea” pun: polisea, agensea, democrasea, currensea, emergensea, efficiensea, tendensea, frequensea, fansea, constituensea, pregnansea, accurasea, redundansea, bureaucrasea, presidensea, legasea, conspirasea, mersea, privasea, bankruptsea, consistensea, literasea, urgensea, deficiensea, dependency, consultansea, tenacity, isea (icy), secrecy, intimasea. See ocean puns entry for more.
Se* → Sea*: Some words that start with just “se” also have a “sea”-ish sound: seacret, searious, seargeant, seacretion, seacure, seacurity, seacondary, seacretariat, seaconds, seacrete, searum, searenity, searvitude. See ocean puns entry for more.
Sea*: Most words starting with “sea” are easy sea puns: season, seasonal, seated, searingly, sealants, seam. See ocean puns entry for more.
See* → Sea*: If a word starts with “see” it can often be replaced with “sea” to create a simple sea pun: seaminly, seads, seaker, seathe, seap, seak, sean, sea (see). See ocean puns entry for more.
Man, eating: As in “Man, eating junk food is the worst.” and “Man, eating your words now, aren’t you?.”
My neat → Man-eat: As in “Man-eat puns are too good for you.” and “It’s man-eat-ness that helps me stay organised.”
Shock → Shark: As in “I was still shivering from shark.”
Thin → Fin: As in “Vanished into fin air.” and “You’re skating on fin ice.”
Nurse: The nurse sharks are a well-known family of sharks. Regular usage of “nurse”: “Yes, he’s a registered nurse.”
Chum: This is a name for chopped fish and fish fluids thrown overboard, often as a shark attractor. Examples of regular usage: “My old chums.” and “We became friends while chumming down at the jetty.”
Shirk → Shark: As in “Stop sharking your responsibilities and get the job done.”
Pup: A young shark is called a “pup“, and the term is often used (in slang) to describe a young person (especially a cheeky boy).
Shiver: When sharks travel in groups, they’re called “shivers”. Example sentence: “Shark puns give me the shivers.”
Mega load on → Megalodon: A very specific pun about a famous extinct shark species weighing over 80 tonnes. Example: “I’m too busy, my boss has put a megalodon my shoulders this week.”
Predator: Sharks are known for being the “predators” of the sea. Used in the right sharky context, this can be subtle wordplay.
Pray → Prey: As in “Just hope and prey that no one gets eaten by a shark.”
*prah* → *prey*: Words containing the “prah” sound (or similar) can be turned into abominable “prey” puns: entre-prey-neurial (entrepreneurial), incom-prey-hensible (incomprehensible), misinter-prey-t, dis-prey-portionately, prep-prey-tory, tem-prey-ture, re-prey-sentation, un-prey-fessional, re-prey-duction.
*pri* → *prey*: An easy set of terribly laboured shark puns can be made of words containing “pri”: prey-vatisation (privatisation), prey-mordial (primordial), prey-cing (pricing), prey-de (pride), pro-prey-ietary (proprietary).
Basking: Basking sharks are the second largest fish in existence (after the whale shark). The usual definitions of “bask” (“basking in the sun”) can be used as puns in the right context.
Busking → Basking: As in “There was basker playing on my street today.”
Tiger: This is a play on tiger shark. As in “Easy there tiger!” and “She’s a tiger on the tennis court.”
Nas* → Gnash: Sharks do a lot of gnashing (striking their teeth together) while trying to get their jaws around prey. If a word starts with a “nas” sound (or similar) it may work as a shark pun: gnashty (nasty), gnashtalgic (nostalgic), gnashville, gnash-onalistic (nationalistic), gnashtrils (nostrils), gnasha (nasa).
A tacky → Attacky: Sharks are famous mostly because of their deadly attacks on humans, so the word “attack” is perhaps closely link to “shark” for it to be a shark pun by itself: “That was attacky shark pun.”

Shark-Related Phrases

Common phrases, idioms and cliches which are related to sharks can be used for some subtle and witty word play. Here is a list of the shark themed phrases that we’ve found so far:

Flesh and blood
Ankle biter
Swim with sharks
Shark repellent
Shark bait
Armed to the teeth
Wouldn’t shout if a shark bit him
Jumping the shark
Voodoo shark
Set your teeth on edge
Going swimmingly
Easy tiger
Load shark
Card shark
A fine kettle of fish
A drop in the ocean
A sea change
Out of the jaws of death
Corporate shark
Swimming along nicely
A fish out of water
Plenty of fish in the sea
Something fishy about that
Something smells fishy
Bigger fish to fry
Chomping at the bit
Fishing for compliments
A biting review
Sink one’s teeth into
Stewed to the gills
To fish in troubled waters
Devil and the deep blue sea
Hammer something out
Send shivers down one’s spine (A shiver is a group of sharks)

Shark-Related Words

There are always more puns to be invented! Here’s a list of shark-related words to help you out. If you come up with any new shark puns, please share them in the comments!

fish, ocean, sea, beach, waves, fin, dorsal, dorsal fin, teeth, jaws, chomp, bite, gnash, hammerhead, pectoral fin, chondrichthyes, mako, megalodon, isurus, cartilage, thresher, predator, prey, saltwater, underwater, river shark, basking shark, tiger, pelargic, porbeagle, benthic, tiger shark, viviparous, cartilaginous, blood, violent, violence, piscine, ventral fin, tail fin, gills, gill, gill slit, pelvic fin, spiracle, snout, caudal, caudal fin, serration, marine, reef shark, water animal, underwater, carnivorous, tope, dogfish, great white, requiem shark, shovelhead, shovelnose, white pointer, blue pointer, pup, man-eater, man-eating, bonnethead, great blue shark, grey nurse, bull shark, nightmare, chum, chumming, megamouth, catshark, smoothhound, cookiecutter, tiburion, stinkard, sand shark, land shark, wobbegong, shiver, rogue, mermaid’s purse, pilot fish, shagreen, rousette, squaloid, squalus, feeding frenzy, territorial, shark attack

Shark Jokes

If you’re looking for extremely corny shark jokes, then you’ve come to the right place. Most of these jokes rely on some sort of pun for their punchline. Tap or hover on the black rectangle to show the answer.

What kind of sharks make good carpenters? – Hammerheads!
How did the shark plead in its murder trial? – Not gill-ty!
Where do sharks go on vacation? – Finland!
I was at the beach today when I saw a man in the sea yelling “Help, shark! Help!” – I just laughed. I knew that shark wasn’t going to help him.
What happened to the shark who swallowed a bunch of keys? – It got lockjaw.
What’s a shark’s favorite bible story? – Noah’s Shark
The last ten times I’ve been to a fancy dress party, I’ve gone as a shark. – The joke’s wearing fin.
It’s my ambition to see a great white shark before I die. – Just not right before I die.
The star attraction at my local aquarium has been repossessed. – Turns out it was a loan shark.
What do you can the mushy stuff stuck between a great white’s shark teeth? – Slow swimmers!
What do you call rubber bumpers on yachts? – Shark absorbers.
What kind of shark is always gambling? – A card shark!
How did the hammerhead do on his test? – He nailed it!
I had a nightmare about being attacked by a shark. – When I woke up I realized it was just a bream.
What kind of hobby does a shark like best? – Anything he can sink his teeth into.
I’ve just seen a huge killer fish singing and playing guitar in the city center – I think it must be a busking shark.
If a shark is after you, what should your feed it? – Jawbreakers!
Who is the most famous shark playwright? – William Sharkspeare!
What do you get when you cross a shark with a snowman? – Frostbite!

Shark Pun Images

We’ve scoured the internet and managed to gather together all the visual shark puns (memes, comics, etc.) that we could. If you’ve made or found any more, please share a link to it in the comments!

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All stocked up on shark puns? Or maybe you’re looking for something more specific that wasn’t in this entry? More shark jokes? More visual puns? A bigger list of shark puns that you can use in conversation? Whatever the case, please let us know in the comments! One of our curators or a member of the Punpedia community will do their best to help you out. And as always, if you have any shark puns that we don’t, please share them with us in the comments! Thanks for visiting Punpedia 🙂

Bowling Puns List

Bowling-Related Words

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Ocean Puns List

Ocean-Related Words

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Shark Puns List

Shark-Related Phrases

Shark-Related Words

Shark Jokes

Shark Pun Images

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