'Wit's End': Brookline Author James Geary On Why We All Need Wit

Brookline author James Geary is passionate about puns and metaphors, and just about any kind of wordplay. He was just a kid when he picked up Reader's Digest and spotted an aphorism for the first time.

"And I still remember it. I was 8 years old," Geary says. " 'The difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.' I wasn't quite sure what it meant, but I knew that there was something special going on."

So special that Geary is now something of a scholar of the art of wit. He says wit is the basic operating principle of human creativity. In ancient times, there was such a thing as competitive riddling. Shakespeare loved puns, as did Sigmund Freud and even Abraham Lincoln. For example:

"[Lincoln is] walking down the street with — I think it was Secretary of State William Seward. And Seward happened to see a sign, 'T.R. Strong,' which was some kind of shop or proprietor of something. And Abraham Lincoln said, 'Aha! T. R. Strong, but coffee is stronger,' " Geary recounts.

Geary just came out with a book on the art of wit, with plenty of samples and his take on what makes it work. It's called "Wit's End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It."

He spoke with WBUR's All Things Considered host Lisa Mullins.