Why do people groan when a pun is told? A pun is often considered obvious humor, since the person relating it is merely balancing the humor in it on a twist of a word's meaning or sound. Children love this type of obvious humor and can laugh at it without reproachments. Adults, on the other hand, are more likely to have a twinge of envy, and "why didn't I think of that?". It is this envy in adults that subconciously causes them to groan upon hearing a pun. As time goes on, it can only be hoped that we adults will eventually learn to react more like a child and less like a groan-up!