A Muppets-themed solo stream by veteran punster (and former Pun-Off champ) Ben Ziek of Glendale, Calif., was a solid drop in the puppet: “If my memory’s a bit Fozzie, Bear with me – I’ve been Gonzo long.”

Once upun a time – actually, just a puny few days ago (May 12) – “Snapshot” documented the O. Henry Museum’s 41st annual Pun-Off World Champunships. Punderstandably, some might punsider such wordplay unfunny, perhaps even a form of punishment, but not the few pundred attendees who gave the several dozen puntestants their pundivided attention, voraciously punsuming every punchline over six hours and two contests, Punniest in Show (solo) and Punslingers (bracketed face-offs). When all was said and pun, “Snapshot” likewise left a pundit. Peep the pundown below:

A Muppets-themed solo stream by veteran punster (and former Pun-Off champ) Ben Ziek of Glendale, Calif., was a solid drop in the puppet: “If my memory’s a bit Fozzie, Bear with me – I’ve been Gonzo long.”

NYC’s Marisa Roper gave contestants a taste of their own musician with her pop-singer-themed spiel about a prom date gone wrong: “Nobody was about to Rihanna my parade … as for my dress: I was able to get it Taylored … Swiftly … turns out he’d been drinking some of Britney’Spears down at Amy’s Winehouse … I just wanted to RuPaul my hair out … as a monogamous woman, I don’t like to Cher.”

Toby Miceli-Gwiazdowski was cool as a number when he won Punniest in Show for a math-themed story about a bad breakup: “… her heart isn’t broken – minus!”

His brother, Jerzy Gwiazdowski, ultimately put in the hardest smirk, winning Punslingers on a “Dog Breeds” topic: “Someone took away my delicious chocolaty beverage – it was a malt tease.”

Wordplay was also afood among vendors (s/o Mmmpanadas) …

… and even the official T-shirts were tailor-made for the occasion.

No one involved was scored to join in.

Huge kudos to the judges – to make a long score short, they were mostly all greight.

See more online at austinchronicle.com/arts/snapshot. Want to pitch an event, happening, idea, or person for “Snapshot”? Email the author/photog: dhall@austinchronicle.com.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.