老外们喜欢幽默,日常生活中许多英语幽默来自于对语言的巧妙运用,尤其是对双关语的运用.老外们的幽默感通过双关语得到了淋漓尽致地发挥.
句法结构双关
例句
--"Do you ever draw picture in the nude?"
--"No, I usually wear a jacket."
对话中，提问的人是想问“你有没有画过裸体画”，而回答的人却理解为“你曾经光着身子画过画吗？”这则幽默中双关产生的原因是对in the nude在句中不同功能的理解，即作定语或作状语。
2 语义双关
例一:一个男孩子为了追求一个在银行窗口工作的女孩子，便在递交存折的同时附上了一张小纸条。
"Dear M:
I have been SAVING this question in the hope that I might gain some INTETRST. If free Friday, would you care to DEPOST yourself beside me at a movie? I have taken into ACCOUNT that you maybe previously engaged; if so I will WITHDRAW my offer and hipe Saturday. At any RATE, your company would much enjoy, and I hope you will not ASSESS this as too forward. Check you late.
Sincerely B."
如此有创意的求爱方式，女孩子能不为之心动么。男孩子巧妙运用银行术语（deposit, withdraw, account, assess, check）与日常环境的不同意思，以独特的方式表达了自己的爱慕之情。
例二：英语习惯用语生动形象，用在一定的语境中，可以产生一语双关的效果。
--What weather does mice most dislike?
--When it is raining cats and dogs.
"Cats and dogs"是倾盆大雨的意思。这则幽默取其字面意思，猫狗都从天上掉下来了，老鼠自然不喜欢了。
3 语音双关
The things my wife buy at auctions are keeping me baroque.
这是一位男士利用baroque（形式怪样的）与broke（破产）的相近读音来表达对妻子花钱大手大脚的不满。
Six year old Linda returned impressed from her school first day at school. Asked how she got on, she replied:" Every morning, we all have to sit at our desk and when the teacher calls our names, we have to answer 'prisoner' !"
当老师点名时，学生应该回答"present"。而Linda利用"prisoner"与"present"的相近读音，表达了对学校生活的不满。
--"You're not eating your fish," the waitress asked him, "Anything wrong with it?"
--"Long time no sea," the customer replied.
"Long time no sea"鱼久不见海，肯定不新鲜。而"Long time no see"是朋友见面时所用的寒暄语，相当于老朋友久别重逢时说的“好久不见”。Sea与see是同音异形异义词，这位顾客巧妙地运用这一点，指出了鱼不好吃，不新鲜。
