The concept of a pun was stretched almost to breaking point a few days ago when a newspaper, on a report that the prime minister had been ushered to the front of a long line of people waiting for a toboggan ride, put the headline: “Sir Queue Jumper!” It’s really only the “Sir” that lets us know a pun is even being attempted. But, since the current prime minister is also a knight, it seems that “Sir Queue Jumper” is a humorous play on the phrase “Sir Keir Starmer”.
The urgent question we need to ask ourselves is: will this do? The newspaper wishes to say that he’s a queue jumper and hasn’t, for some reason, gone with the phrase “Keir Starmer is a queue jumper”. Perhaps the editorial team thinks it would be better to convey that message with a joke. But does “Sir Queue Jumper” count as a joke? I know “Keir” is an unusual name, but nowhere near as unusual as “Queue”. Perhaps there’s someone somewhere in the world called “Queue” but, if so, it’s likely to be a result of administrative error rather than any parent wishing to associate their beloved newborn with the concept of waiting around. It is not, I would say, an actual name. So its overlap with “Keir” is limited to the fact that both “Keir” and “Queue” are words.
