Pressure to get a French joke (3)
I believe the answer is:
pun
'joke' is the definition.
(pun is a type of joke)
'pressure to get a french' is the wordplay.
'pressure' becomes 'p' (abbreviation).
'to get' says to put letters next to each other.
'a french' becomes 'un' ('a' in French).
'p'+'un'='PUN'
(Other definitions for pun that I've seen before include "A play on words, perhaps the lowest form of wit" , "A play on words, may be funny" , "Form of wordplay" , "joke" , "conceit by a wordsmith?" .)