punstrumental

Adjective describing lines of conversation (that are often tangential or irrelevant digressions) instrumental only in framing a pun or other such lexical ambiguity humourously applied.

Compare shaggy dog story.

"do you mean to tell me our entire conversation was so you could make one of your stupid puns?"

could be rewritten as

"I now realise our conversation has been entirely punstramental"

by thewilster October 18, 2004