Classical rhetoricians favored the important-sounding term paronomasia--playing on the sounds and meanings of words. Linguists refer to them as homophones--different words that are pronounced the same way (not weigh). And psychologists use phrases like ambiguity resolution and bistable illusion.

We simply call them puns. And whether or not you're a fan of word play, puns are inescapable.

Join us as we stroll down the main streets and high streets of the English-speaking world--stopping by a liquor store named Boo's, a clothing shop called Knit Wit, and a portable-toilet rental service in Chicago known as (get ready) Oui Oui Enterprises.

Go ahead--roll your eyes and groan. Jest for the pun of it, here are the shamelessly punny names of 187 shops, bars, hair salons, restaurants, dog groomers, service stations, and, yes, lumberyards (Julius Cedar).

Oh, and by the way: as far as we can determine, most of the businesses listed here are still operating. Whether that's because of their clever names or in spite of them, you decide.

• Assorted Businesses and Services (below)
• Bars, Barber Shops and Hair Salons (page two)
• Cafes, Coffee Shops, and Restaurants (page three)

 

Assorted Businesses and Services

• Alexander the Grate
  (fireplace retailer in Belfast, Northern Ireland)
• All Cisterns Go
  (plumbing service in York, England)
• ArtSea Gallery and Goods
  (Port Isabel, Texas)
• Ashwipe Chimney Sweeps
  (Chicago, Illinois)
• Avant-Card
  (stationery shop in Berkeley, California)
• Beddy Buyz
  (furniture shop in London)
• Beecher Meat
  (butcher shop in Beecher, Illinois)
• Bona Foodie
  (market in Brighton, England)
• Boo's Liquor
  (East Terrell, Texas)
• Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors
  (Amarillo, Texas)

• Carl's Pane in the Glass
  (glass and window services in Garland, Texas)
• Carpin Capers
  (fishing equipment shop in Northampton, England)
• C’est Cheese
  (cheese shop in Santa Barbara, California)
• Cosmopoli-Tan
  (tanning salon in New Orleans, Louisiana)
• CyclePath
  (bicycle store in San Francisco, California)
• Cycloanalysts
  (bicycle shop in Oxford, England)
• Cycology Mobile Bike Repair
  (Portland, Oregon)
• Ewe and Me Fiber Studio
  (knitting supplies shop in Sandwich, Illinois)
• Floral 'n' Hardy
  (flower shop in Lanark, Scotland)
• Florist Gump
  (flower shop in Bunbury, Washington)
• Fond Ewe Fine Cheeses
  (Keswick, England)
• Frame, Set and Match
  (picture framing shop in London)
• Get Plastered!
  (interior plaster company in San Francisco, California)
• Get Stuffed
  (taxidermist in Islington, England)
• Going Pottie
  (ceramics studio in Dunkeld, Scotland)
• Grate Expectations
  (chimney and fireplace service in London)
• Haute Dogs & Fat Cats
  (pet shop in Dallas, Texas)
• Hearty Boys
  (catering service in Chicago, Illinois)
• Indiana Bones Temple of Groom
  (pet grooming service in Simi Valley,California)
• Jamaican Me Crazy
  ("family fun store" in Haddonfield, New Jersey)
• Julius Cedar
  (lumberyard in Saskatoon, Canada)
• Junk & Disorderly
  (furniture store in Nottingham, England)
• Knead to Relax Massage
  (Traverse City, Michigan)
• Knit Wit
  (clothing store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Latte Da Dairy
  (Flower Mound, Texas)
• Luna Sea Bed and Breakfast Motel
  (Cocoa Beach, Florida)
• Melon Cauli
  (greengrocer and fruit seller in Birmingham, England)
• Merry Pop Ins Child Care
  (Jacksonville, Florida)
• Millionhairs
  (dog grooming service in Bath, England)
• Napoleon Boiler Parts
  (plumbing supply store in Alton, England)
• The Old Spokes Home
  (bicycle shop in Burlington, Vermont)
• Old Volks Home
  (Volkswagen service and repair in Richmond, Virginia)
• Optom-Eyes
  (optometrist in Colorado Springs, Colorado)
• Oui Oui Enterprises Ltd.
  (portable toilet rental service, Chicago, Illinois)
• Pam-Purred Pets
  (pet store in Leslie, Michigan)
• Pane in the Glass
  (window washing service in Contra Costa, California)
• Past Caring
  (antique shop in London)
• Phydeaux
  (pet-supply store in Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
• Prints Charming Photography
  (Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania)
• Reading Lasses
  (bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland)
• R. Soles
  (boot and shoe store in London)
• Sew Materialistic
  (fabric store in Brooklyn, New York)
• Shoebedo Kids Boutique
  (children's shoe store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• Shoenique Shoes
  (Longmeadow, Massachusetts)
• Shutopia
  (shoe store in Bradford, England)
• Snip Doggy Dog Grooming and Dog Sitting
  (Altrincham, England)
• Sofa So Good
  (furniture store in Vancouver, Canada)
• Specs Appeal
  (optical shop in Glendale, Wisconsin)
• Suite Deal Furnishers
  (furniture shop in London)
• The Stalk Market
  (flower shop in Seattle, Washington)
• Tanfastic Tanning Salon
  (Brookfield, Wisconsin)
• Thistle Do Nicely
  (souvenir shop in Edinburgh, Scotland)
• Tiecoon
  (men's clothing store in Dallas, Texas)
• A Time to Kiln
  (pottery store in Red Bank, New Jersey)
• Vinyl Solutions Unlimited
  (vinyl supply store in Greensburg, Indiana)
• Wash Up Doc Laundromat
  (Clifton, Colorado)
• William the Concreter
  (concrete contractor in Durham, England)
• Wish You Wash Here
  (launderette in Coventry, England)
• Womb to Grow
  (shop that sells maternity wear and baby gifts in Lichfield, England)
• Wooden-It-Be-Nice
  (furniture repair shop in Belvidere, Illinois)
• Woodfellas Carpentry & Joinery Ltd
  (Birmingham, England)
• Wreck-A-Mended Towing and Automotive Repair
  (Marietta, Georgia)
• You've Got to Be Beading!
  (bead store in Mystic, Connecticut)

 

• Assorted Businesses and Services (above)
• Bars, Barber Shops and Hair Salons (page two)
• Cafes, Coffee Shops, and Restaurants (page three)