What did Samuel Johnson most likely mean by the statement about tampering with the currency of human intelligence?

• A. Punning is a frivolous and transgressive use of language
• B. Hyperbole
• C. Irony
• D. Metaphor

Answer: (A)

Johnson frames language as something valuable, like currency, and the phrase about tampering with it uses that image to judge a kind of wit. Punning relies on wordplay and shifting meanings to get a quick, clever effect, which can feel like manipulating words for amusement rather than for clear, serious communication. So the statement reads as a pointed critique: punning is a frivolous, even transgressive, use of language that degrades its value. The other options don’t fit as well because the line isn’t simply a matter of exaggeration (hyperbole), saying one thing and meaning another (irony), or just a metaphor about language in general (metaphor); it specifically condemns punning as a misuse of language’s value.