60 Mask Puns That’ll Have You Covered

Masks are inherently funny to me. Something about covering half your face and expecting people to still take you seriously, it’s comedy built into the concept. I’ve been sitting on these mask puns for way too long, and some of them have been fermenting in a way that’s… not entirely pleasant. But here we are.

1. The Obvious Opener

What do you call a party where everyone wears a mask? A mask-erade. Yeah, I know. We had to get that one out of the way first. It’s the “hello” of mask puns.

2. The Breakup

The mask broke up with the tape. Said it felt like the relationship was just masking its true feelings. Masking tape sat there in stunned silence, which tbh is pretty on-brand for tape.

3.

You really gotta put in mask-imum effort with your Halloween costume this year.

4. This one I’m genuinely proud of

My friend asked me why I was wearing a sheet mask, a ski mask, and a masquerade mask all at once. I told him I was going through an identity cry-sis and needed multiple layers of protection. He said I looked ridiculous. I said, “At least I’m multi-masking.” That’s a real skincare term AND a pun. I will not be taking criticism on this one.

5.

That designer mask? An absolute mask-terpiece.

6.

Is that a mask-uline or feminine design? Hard to tell, the fabric’s pretty gender-neutral.

7. The Sports Round

• What’s a mask’s favorite sport? Mask-etball.
• What about in the pool? Water mask-o. (That’s water polo but worse. I’m sorry.)
• And on the field? La-mask. Wait, no. That’s lacrosse and it barely works. Moving on.

8.

The magician pulled off his mask and honestly? The trick was a-mask-ing.

9.

I told my coworker I was thinking about getting into mask-making as a side hustle. She said, “That’s a bold move.” I said, “No, that’s a mold move.” Because you literally use molds. She didn’t laugh. Nobody ever laughs at the accurate ones.

10. A Personal Favorite

Here’s one that lives rent-free in my head: in audio engineering, “masking” is when one sound makes another sound imperceptible. So technically, every time a loud person talks over you while wearing a mask, that’s double masking. Frequency masking AND physical masking. I know this is niche. I know maybe four people will appreciate it. Those four people are my target audience.

11.

Not wearing a mask is just mask-ing for trouble.

12.

Just putting a mask on the problem won’t solve it. But it will make the problem slightly harder to identify in a lineup.

13.

Why did the N95 get promoted? It always went above and beyond, never did the BARE minimum, always filtered out the negativity. Management said its performance was un-mask-ed excellence.

Okay I need to pause here because I just realized how many of these rely on “masking feelings” and I want to assure you that not ALL of them do. Some of them are about masking smells. Very different vibe.

14.

This mask is so thick it’s masking the sound of my voice. Which, depending on who you ask, is a feature, not a bug.

15. Instagram Caption Energy

Mask on, world off. ✌️

16.

“I can’t find my mask anywhere,” I told my roommate. She said, “Have you checked behind the couch?” I said, “Of course. I’m not some mask-ateur.”

That one. THAT one. I’ve been waiting to use “mask-ateur” for months. It replaces “amateur” so cleanly. I’m beaming.

17.

Batman is the world’s greatest detective, but honestly his most impressive skill is masking his identity using a piece of fabric that covers roughly 12% of his face.

18.

The Phantom of the Opera, the original mask influencer.

19. For the Theater Kids

In commedia dell’arte, the leather half-masks are called “mezze maschere,” and the unmasked characters are the lovers because apparently you can’t be romantic with your face covered. Which explains a lot about my dating life during 2020. Anyway: commedia dell’arte? More like commedia dell’MASK-te. (This is terrible. I know it’s terrible. It haunts me that I typed it and I’m leaving it in.)

20.

What did one surgical mask say to the other? “I’ve got you covered.”

21.

Tried to mask my surprise when I saw the price of those fancy KN95s. Twelve dollars? Per mask? In THIS economy?

22.

She tried to mask her laughter behind her hand, which was ironic because she was already wearing a mask behind which she could have masked it.

23. Another Instagram One

New mask, who dis? 😷

24.

He was clearly masking the truth about his nose. The mask helped.

25.

I’m not saying my mask is doing a lot of work, but it’s currently masking my bad breath, my double chin, AND the fact that I’m mouthing the lyrics to a song no one else can hear.

26. The Niche One for Photoshop People

Layer masks, clipping masks, quick masks, Photoshop has more masks than a Venetian carnival. And honestly, learning to use them properly is about as confusing as navigating a Venetian carnival. If you know, you know. If you don’t, just nod and scroll.

27.

Why don’t ghosts wear masks? They’re already BOO-yond recognition.

(That’s not even really a mask pun. That’s a ghost pun wearing a mask pun’s clothing. Which I guess makes it… a mask pun in disguise? Okay we’re going in circles.)

28.

Zorro’s mask covers like two inches of his face and somehow nobody recognizes him. That’s not masking, that’s the people around him being aggressively unobservant.

29.

My mask collection is getting out of hand. I think I have a mask-hoarding problem. Or as I like to call it, a “face wardrobe.”

30. The Halfway Point Confession

I won’t lie to you, I’m running on fumes and caffeine. But the puns must flow. The mask puns, specifically. They must flow like air through a well-fitted respirator.

31.

What do you call a mask that tells jokes? A wise-cracker. Wait, no. A laugh-guard? No. A… pun-demic mask. There it is. Awful. Proceeding.

32.

Ninjas are experts at masking their identity. Though to be fair, the all-black outfit and rooftop skulking also help.

33.

It’s hard to make a living when you’re always mask-ing your face. Unless you’re a welder. Or a beekeeper. Or a hockey goalie. Actually a LOT of professions involve face-covering now that I think about it.

34. One I’d Text a Friend

just saw a guy wearing his mask under his nose again. that’s like wearing a seatbelt as a belt. technically present, functionally mask-ingless

35.

The villain was finally un-mask-ed! Turns out it was Old Man Jenkins the whole time. It’s always Old Man Jenkins.

36.

Why did the mask go to therapy? It was tired of everyone projecting onto it.

37. Rapid Fire, Don’t Think, Just Read

• Mask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies.
• You mask, and you shall receive.
• Don’t mask, don’t tell.

38.

I wore a face mask to the spa and a face mask to the store on the same day. Two completely different products. English is unhinged.

39.

What’s a mask’s favorite Shakespeare play? Much Ado About Muzzling. Nope. The Taming of the Shrew-rgical Mask. Nope. Honestly? “The Comedy of Errors” works without changing anything because have you SEEN people try to wear masks with glasses?

40.

My dog ate my mask. Guess he wanted to put on a brave face.

41. For the Science Nerds

In chemistry, a masking agent is a reagent that prevents a specific reaction from occurring. Which is honestly what my face mask does at family gatherings too, prevents me from visibly reacting to my uncle’s hot takes. Chemistry and Thanksgiving: more overlap than you’d think.

42.

Mask on. Haters off. (Caption-ready, you’re welcome.)

43.

“Why do you have so many masks?” my mom asked. I told her I like to keep my options open. She said that’s what I say about everything. She’s not wrong but that’s a different blog post.

44.

The goalie’s mask took a puck to the face. It was de-mask-tating.

I know. I KNOW. But “devastating” to “de-mask-tating” is a clean swap and I refuse to apologize for phonetic accuracy.

45.

What kind of mask does a tree wear? Bark. Just… bark. That’s it. That’s the pun. It’s barely a pun. It’s more of a statement about tree anatomy.

46.

I asked the store clerk if they had any mask recommendations and she said, “It depends on what you’re trying to mask.” Deep, Karen. Real deep.

47. The Stretch of the Century

What do you call a mask from Damascus? A Da-mask. (This is technically a real word, damask is a type of fabric. So it’s a pun AND educational. You’re learning things against your will right now.)

48.

The face mask said to the eye mask: “You only do half the job I do.” The eye mask replied: “At least people look forward to seeing me at bedtime.”

49.

Kinda wild that “unmasking” means both “revealing the truth” and “literally just taking off a piece of cloth.” The drama differential is enormous.

50. We’re in the Home Stretch

My friend said wearing a mask makes him feel like a superhero. I said it makes me feel like I’m robbing a very slow, well-lit bank where I also buy groceries.

51.

Why did the mask fail the exam? It kept covering up the answers.

52.

I tried to compliment someone’s mask the other day and accidentally said “nice face.” Which… also works? But differently.

53.

The mask market is really saturated right now. You could say it’s reaching mask saturation. You could say that. I just did. Nobody asked me to.

54. The One That Made Me Laugh at My Own Joke

In fencing, the mask is the most important piece of protective equipment. Without it, you’d just be two people angrily poking each other with metal sticks, which is less “Olympic sport” and more “Tuesday at my old office job.” The point is (pun intended), fencers really need to stay en garde about their mask-urity. Security. Mask-urity. I’ll see myself out but I’m taking the trophy with me.

55.

Face it, you love mask puns.

56.

“I lost my mask,” he said abashedly. Wait, that’s not, okay that’s just a Tom Swifty with no mask pun in it. But I’m keeping it because Tom Swifties deserve respect and also I’m tired.

57.

• Resting mask face.
• Living mask to mask. (Instead of hand to mouth. Get it? GET IT?)
• Behind every mask is a face that probably should’ve moisturized more.

58.

The superhero convention was basically a mask-networking event. Everyone was putting on a brave face. Literally.

59.

I don’t always wear a mask, but when I do, I make sure it mask-es my entire personality. Which, given my personality, requires a pretty big mask.

60. The Closer

What did the mask say when it retired? “I’ve been covering for everyone long enough.”

Honestly that last one might be the best thing I’ve ever written and it came to me at the very end when my brain was basically soup. Figures. Anyway, stay masked, stay punny, and if anyone asks, you didn’t get these from me. I have a reputation to mask-intain.