Have you ever rolled your eyes at someone because they slid a pun into a conversation? If you have, you wouldn’t be the only one. Puns are far too often dismissed with a wave of judgment from anyone pun-fortunate enough to have been in hearing range. Why should people be pun-ished for letting a corny joke slip? Wordplay is a natural part of the world. People may seem delighted to ignore the joys of puns, but if they had to live a life without puns, they would be as de-lighted as a world without a sun. 

It is time for us to stop grating at the cheesiest of puns until they’re as broken down as shredded parmesan and bottled up for sale under labels like “Warning, major cringe ahead.” We treat these cheesy jokes like cheap American cheddar, even if they’re actually pretty Gouda. You should consider that the next time that you’re rolling your eyes at your dad’s latest quip. This also explains why people continue telling jokes when no one seems to find them funny, like Dwayne Johnson in the Disney movie Jungle Cruise.

Puns aren’t as groundbreaking or earth-shattering as a shovel. Wordplay has been around longer than the languages we use to communicate today. There are many ancient languages that incorporated puns into their hieroglyphics. Ancient polytheistic religions used puns to interpret age-old myths. Even the illustrious William Shakespeare knew the value of good wordplay. These puns are so old that they remember when America was just a small collection of colonies in a foreign land. Now look at us. We deny our historical pun lineage. In doing so, we force jokesters to deal with disappointment from their peers just because they feel the need to lighten the mood when things get a bit too heavy! They spend endless hours coming up with witty lines only to be ostracized and labeled “annoying.” 

It has been said that puns are the lowest form of humor. This simply isn’t true. There are some overused puns, but even those are valid if they can bring a smile to someone’s face. People who refuse to accept puns are also preventing others from experiencing the joy of an unexpected joke popping up in a serious conversation. It’s basically the same as giving people dirty looks for saying “Awww” after seeing two kittens get into a playful scuffle. Even a seemingly benign show of distaste can make someone feel paw-ful inside when they were feline happy. 

Now I know what you’re going to say. Puns are overused and rarely require much originality. I just used two puns (paw-ful and feline) that I’m sure most punsters—and the people forced to live with them—have heard more than that one song they played on loop for hours that turned into days and weeks because it was their “faaavorite.” Believe it or not, I understand this anti-pun propaganda. Surely, since puns are so recyclable, they must be lesser forms of comedy compared to stand-up comedians that dedicate their lives to riffing off of the same political problems, or quick-witted displays of sarcasm that often fall back on playground insults passed down from our parents. No way can silly dad jokes compare to such original forms of humor.

Don’t fear puns. Each pun is a fragile little egg waiting for its chance to break open its shell and embrace its life. Why should these chicks hatch into a world that sees them and rolls its eyes saying “Here we go again”? Even if they aren’t egg-citing enough to crack you up, there is no reason to hate on them. They are harmless drops of fun that should be sprinkled into conversations more liberally, even if some people act like hearing a pun causes them physical pain. 

Although many people don’t like puns now, most of them did when they were kids. Little in this world compares to the joy in a child’s eyes when they learn their first knock knock joke. They will recite it over and over until everyone else in their life knows it by heart, but they will continue to spout it out with the same unwavering excitement as ever. Most of us grow up loving dad jokes, even if we lose that excitement somewhere along the way. Don’t believe me? Sesame Street entertained children with its silly jokes for 52 seasons.

Despite the love they get from children, dad jokes get more hate than any other appropriate humor. It is time to stop this war on puns and unite over a common goal: silly laughs that brighten even the dullest conversations. Next time you’re at a family event, tell your dad jokes. He might just get them.