and alternative uses There exist subtle differences between paronomasia and other literary techniques, such as the double entendre. While puns are often simple wordplay for comedic or rhetorical effect, a double entendre alludes to a second meaning that is not contained within the statement or phrase itself, often one that purposefully disguises the second meaning. As both exploit the use of intentional double meanings, puns can sometimes be double entendres, and vice versa. Puns also bear similarities with paraprosdokian, syllepsis, and eggcorns. In addition, homographic puns are sometimes compared to the stylistic device antanaclasis, and homophonic puns to polyptoton. Puns can be used as a type of mnemonic device to enhance comprehension in an educational setting. Used discreetly, puns can effectively reinforce content and aid in the retention of material. Some linguists have encouraged the creation of neologisms to decrease the instances of confusion caused by puns. History and global usage Puns were found in ancient Egypt, where they were heavily used in the development of myths and interpretation of dreams. In China, Shen Dao (ca. 300 BC) used "shi", meaning "power", and "shi", meaning "position" to say that a king has power because of his position as king. In ancient Mesopotamia around 2500 BC, punning was used by scribes to represent words in cuneiform. The Tanakh contains puns. The Maya are known for having used puns in their hieroglyphic writing, and for using them in their modern languages. In Japan, "graphomania" was one type of pun. In Tamil, "Sledai" is the word used to mean pun in which a word with two different meanings. This is also classified as a poetry style in ancient Tamil literature. Similarly, in Telugu, "Slesha" is the equivalent word and is one of several poetry styles in Telugu literature. See also Aesopian language Albur Alliteration Auto-antonym Dad joke Dajare Double entendre False etymology Mondegreen Phono-semantic matching Satiric misspelling Spoonerism Tom Swifty Notes References (access restricted) Ambiguity Etymology Humour Lexicology Satire Semantics Types of words Word play Words