Meaning

noun a humorous play on words

verb make a play on words

originFrom Middle English ponnen, ponen, punen, from Old English punian, pūnian (“to pound, beat, bray, bruise, crush, grind”), from Proto-Germanic *punōną (“to break to pieces, pulverize”). See pound. As a kind of word play, from the notion of "beating" the words into place.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0