The unforgiving minute: Flubber

Here's a pro tip:

If you have to tell your readers that a particular word choice is (or isn't) intended as a pun, it's probably not much of a pun (or is simply careless writing) and should be left alone to do its job as best it can without prodding (or written out).

The writer who inserts "(pun/no pun intended)" is the rough equivalent of the late night host who deliberately flubs a joke so he can use all his carefully rehearsed ad libs.

The pun may be the lowest form of wit -- opinions vary -- but it is nevertheless a form of wit and should therefore be allowed to go about its work, however humble, without being upstaged by its own creator.

Minute's up.