1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 33 Whether or no Punning, Quibling, and that which they call Joquing, and such other delicaces of Wit..might not be very conveniently omitted?

1691 J. Norris Refl. upon Conduct Human Life (ed. 2) 58 This great Mystery of Disputation is nothing else but a meer Tossing of Words backward and forward, sometimes without any meaning, which is Canting; and sometimes with more Meanings than one, which is Punning.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 61. ¶1 That [false wit] which consists in a Jingle of Words, and is comprehended under the general Name of Punning.

1719 T. Sheridan Art of Punning (ed. 2) 2 Punning is a Virtue that most effectually promotes the End of Good Fellowship, which is Laughing.

1791 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 26/1 During the reigns of James and..Charles, punning was the language of the Pulpit as well as of the Court.

1801 Times 29 Dec. 2/3 All the nodding, grinning, and punning, which make so great a part of the noble science of witness-baiting.

1864 Round Table 18 June 12/1 Philadelphia has a world-wide reputation for punning. To be a Philadelphian is to be a born punster.

1912 W. Archer Play-making (1919) v. 79 In his later comedies the names are admirably chosen: they are characteristic without eccentricity or punning.

1992 Rev. Eng. Stud. 43 113 The congruity between name and object disappeared and punning entered the human world.

2006 Psychologies (U.K. ed.) July 150/3 As the week wears on..I find myself infuriated by his constant joking and punning, his inability to take a back seat.

1838 F. W. Simms Public Wks. Great Brit. 33 The operation of punning or packing performed, until the brickwork is complete.

1876 W. H. Preece & J. Sivewright Telegraphy 190 No matter how well the punning and ramming may be done after the pole is planted,..a considerable time will always elapse before the earth settles back to its former condition.

1919 Spectator 20 Sept. 363/2 What amount of punning is required to give the wall the required solidity?

1997 S. Macdonald in M. Stratton Structure & Style xi. 215 Characteristic of concrete of this period, the compaction or punning, which was done by hand, was variable, with aggregate collecting to the base of each pour.

1909 N.E.D. at Pun v.² Punning-block.

1681 W. Kennett To Mr. E. L. on His Majesties dissolving Late Parl. at Oxf. (broadsheet) Punning Wits no doubt will cry, Oh Weeked Parliament.

1683 W. Soames tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Art of Poetry ii. 23 A Corporation of dull Punning Drolls.

1721 N. Amhurst Terræ-filius (1726) II. 204 It is no wonder that a punning monarch produc'd a race of punning and pun-admiring liege subjects.

1830 W. Scott Monastery (new ed.) II. vii. 92 A device of a punning or canting herald.

1841 Times 13 Apr. 6/1 That punning poet [sc. Hood], abandoning for once both puns and poetry, described him as an ‘honest, hearty, worthy man’.

1979 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 18 Oct. 7/5 S. J. Perelman, the punning writer of humorous pieces that ranged from the New Yorker magazine articles to screenplays for Marx Brothers movies.

2005 National Post (Canada) (Nexis) 12 Nov. (Weekend Post section) 6 He's the sunny, perpetually punning master chef, food consultant and instructor who has hosted more than 1,800 cooking shows.

1715 V. H. G. Lunatus Homunculus 7 Being Arm'd with Royal Gin and Stingo, To Rarifie his Punning Lingo.

1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. IV. 195 Such as have nothing to recommend them but a punning jingle of words.

1787 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. sig. M8 He was born at Little Wittham. A punning insinuation that the person spoken of wants understanding.

1812 Times 1 Oct. 4/1 The punning motto of the Cavendish family. [Note] ‘Cavendo tutus!’

1879 Academy 23 The Tyrrhenians, whom only a punning etymology made Tyrseni.

1958 T. H. White Once & Future King ii. viii. 271 There were heraldic devices worked or stamped on the sides—enormous black eagles with two heads perhaps,..or punning signs which referred to the names of the owners.

1991 Writer's Digest Nov. 79/3 To signal our intention to cognoscenti, we contrived a punning dedication: ‘To J.J., who made the real Mollie bloom’.

2000 G. Santoro Myself when I am Real (2001) ix. 186 ‘Ecclusiastics’, a typically punning title, was another form of gospel drive.