feghoot 

Aka. Shaggy Dog Story
A story (usually sci-fi) that concludes with a pun.
Originated with a character in the magazine <i>Fantasy and Science Fiction</i> by the name of Ferdinand Feghood

Probably the best feghoot is one by Issac Asimov:

Monty Stein, in the year 3047, committed quite a heist and made off with quite a tidy sum. He was eventually caught, and the judge sentenced him to seven years imprisonment. However, the night before his impending incarceration, he calmly set his time machine for seven years and one day, and stepped through.

When he emerged in 3054, there was quite an uproar. Prosecution maintained that Monty Stein never actually served the sentence, since effectively no time passed for him. Defense stated that the effect was basically the same, since he lost seven years of living in society, or something to that effect. Both sides called each other names (as lawyers are wont to do).

Eventually, Stein was set free. Some say that the judge succumbed to peer pressure; others said that he simply couldn't resist the temptation. For his decision, in full, was:

"A niche in time saves Stein."

feghoot by abracadabra January 18, 2004