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As argued elsewhere (below Ch. 7) particular humorous modes are a ubiquitous feature of English-speaking culture. It is suggested (in Ch. 10) that it may be a realistic learning aim for advanced learners of English to be made familiar-at least in the area of receptive abilities-with the English usage phenomenon of humorous allusion. This has a long history in Englishspeaking culture and literature. In what follows we shall be concentrating on one small facet, namely, allusive puns or, in part, punning allusions. After a preliminary discussion of catch phrases, allusions and wordplay in English speaking communities we will concentrate on a case study of a recent'catch phrase'in Great Britain and analyze the mechanisms involved in the allusive variations of the phrase which have been sighted in recent years.