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Transpositional Pun
A transpositional pun is a pun format with two aspects. It involves transposing the words in a well-known phrase or saying to get a daffynition-like clever redefinition of a well-known word unrelated to the original phrase. The redefinition is thus the first aspect, and the transposition the second aspect. As a result, transpositional puns are considered among the most difficult to create, and commonly the most challenging to comprehend, particularly for non-native speakers of the language in which they're given (most commonly English). Examples See also * Antimetabole * Anti-proverb * Chiasmus * Russian reversal * Spoonerism A spoonerism is an occurrence of speech in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis) between two words of a phrase. These are named after the Oxford don and priest William Archibald Spooner, who report ... References {{reflist Puns ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Daffynition
A daffynition (a portmanteau blend of '' daffy'' and ''definition'') is a form of pun involving the reinterpretation of an existing word, on the basis that it sounds like another word (or group of words). Presented in the form of dictionary definitions, they are similar to transpositional puns, but often much less complex and easier to create. Under the name Uxbridge English Dictionary, making up daffynitions is a popular game on the BBC Radio 4 comedy quiz show ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''. A lesser-known subclass of daffynition is the ''goofinition'', which relies strictly on literal associations and correct spellings, such as "lobster = a weak tennis player". This play on words is similar to Cockney rhyming slang. Examples *acrostic: An angry bloodsucking arachnid. (a-cross-tick) * American: A happy cylindrical food container. (a-merry-can) * apéritif: A set of dentures. (a-pair-of-teeth) * avoidable: What a bullfighter tries to do. (avoid-a-bull) *buccaneer: too much t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, measures roughly long and has metal Key (instrument), keys, a conical Bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Sound is produced by blowing into the Reed (instrument), reed at a sufficient air pressure, causing it to vibrate with the air column. The distinctive tone is versatile and has been described as "bright". When the word ''oboe'' is used alone, it is generally taken to mean the soprano member rather than other instruments of the family, such as the bass oboe, the cor anglais (English horn), or oboe d'amore. Today, the oboe is commonly used as orchestral or solo instrument in Orchestra, symphony orchestras, concert bands and chamber music, chamber ensembles. The oboe is especially used in classical music, film music, some ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Russian Reversal
"In Soviet Russia", also called the Russian reversal, is a joke template taking the general form "In America you do ''X'' to/with ''Y''; in Soviet Russia ''Y'' does ''X'' to/with you". Typically the American clause describes a harmless ordinary activity and the inverted Soviet form something menacing or dysfunctional, satirizing life under communist rule, or in the "old country". Sometimes the first clause is omitted, and sometimes either clause or both are deliberately rendered with English grammatical errors stereotypical of Russians. Although the exact origin of the joke form is uncertain, an early example is from the 1938 Cole Porter musical '' Leave It to Me!'' ("In Soviet Russia, messenger tips you."). Bob Hope used the form at the 1958 Academy Awards. In the 1968–1973 television show ''Laugh-In'', a recurring character, "Piotr Rosmenko the Eastern European Man" (played by Arte Johnson), delivered short jokes such as "Here in America, is very good, everyone watch televi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Chiasmus
In rhetoric, chiasmus ( ) or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek , "crossing", from the Ancient Greek, Greek , , "to shape like the letter chi (letter), Χ"), is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses – but no repetition of words". A similar device, antimetabole, also involves a reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses in an A-B-B-A configuration, but unlike chiasmus, presents a repetition of words. Examples Chiasmus balances words or phrases with similar, though not identical, meanings: "Dotes" and "strongly loves" share the same meaning and bracket, as do "doubts" and "suspects". Additional examples of chiasmus: For comparison, the following is considered antimetabole, in which the reversal in structure involves the same words: Both chiasmus and antimetabole can be used to reinforce antithesis. In chiasmus, the clauses display inverted Parallelism (grammar), parallelism. Chiasmus was particula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Anti-proverb
An anti-proverb or a perverb is the transformation of a standard proverb for humour, humorous effect. Paremiology, Paremiologist Wolfgang Mieder defines them as "parodied, twisted, or fractured proverbs that reveal humorous or satirical speech play with traditional proverbial wisdom". Anti-proverbs are ancient, Aristophanes having used one in his play ''Peace (play), Peace'', substituting "bell" (in the unique compound "bellfinch") for "bitch, female dog", twisting the standard and familiar "The hasty bitch gives birth to blind" to "The hasty bellfinch gives birth to blind". Anti-proverbs have also been defined as "an allusive distortion, parody, misapplication, or unexpected contextualization of a recognized proverb, usually for comic or satiric effect".p. xi, Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, & Fred Shapiro. ''The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs''. New Haven: Yale University Press. To have full effect, an anti-proverb must be based on a known proverb. For example, "If at f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Antimetabole
In rhetoric, antimetabole ( ) is the repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed order; for example, "I know what I like, and I like what I know". It is related to, and sometimes considered a special case of, chiasmus. An antimetabole can be predictive, because it is easy to reverse the terms. It may trigger deeper reflection than merely stating one half of the line. Etymology It is derived from the Greek (), from (, 'against, opposite') and (, 'turning about, change'). Examples * " Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno" ("One for all, all for one") * "Eat to live, do not live to eat." —Socrates (presumably) *"Ask not what ''your country'' can do for ''you''; ask what ''you'' can do for ''your country''." — John F. Kennedy, 1961 inaugural address * "There is no 'way to peace'. Peace is the way." — A. J. Muste * "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." — Mark 2:27 *" When the going gets tough, the tough get going." *"You need to change how y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Mercenary
A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather than for political interests. Beginning in the 20th century, mercenaries have increasingly come to be seen as less entitled to protection by rules of war than non-mercenaries. The Geneva Conventions declare that mercenaries are not recognized as legitimate combatants and do not have to be granted the same legal protections as captured service personnel of the armed forces. In practice, whether or not a person is a mercenary may be a matter of degree, as financial and political interests may overlap. International and national laws of war Protocol Additional GC 1977 (APGC77) is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions. Article 47 of the protocol provides the most widely accepted international definition of a mercenary, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. The classic definition, by François Louis Ganshof (1944),François Louis Ganshof (1944). ''Qu'est-ce que la féodalité''. Translated into English by Philip Grierson as ''Feudalism'', with a foreword by F. M. Stenton, 1st ed.: New York and London, 1952; 2nd ed: 1961; 3rd ed.: 1976. describes a set of reciprocal legal and Medieval warfare, military obligations of the warrior nobility and revolved around the key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs. A broader definition, as described by Marc Bloch (1939), includes not only the obligations of the warrior nobility but the obligations of all three estates of the realm: the nobility, the cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In the old calendar, the new year began on March 25, not January 1. Paine's birth date, therefore, would have been before New Year, 1737. In the new style, his birth date advances by eleven days and his year increases by one to February 9, 1737. The Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. link gives more detail if needed. – June 8, 1809) was an English-born American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, French Revolutionary, inventor, and political philosophy, political philosopher. He authored ''Common Sense'' (1776) and ''The American Crisis'' (1776–1783), two of the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, and he helped to inspire the Colonial history of the United States, colonial era Patriot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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English Language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples that Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, migrated to Britain after its End of Roman rule in Britain, Roman occupiers left. English is the list of languages by total number of speakers, most spoken language in the world, primarily due to the global influences of the former British Empire (succeeded by the Commonwealth of Nations) and the United States. English is the list of languages by number of native speakers, third-most spoken native language, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish language, Spanish; it is also the most widely learned second language in the world, with more second-language speakers than native speakers. English is either the official language or one of the official languages in list of countries and territories where English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-sport event, variety of competitions. The Olympic Games, Open (sport), open to both amateur and professional athletes, involves more than 200 teams, each team representing a sovereign state or territory. By default, the Games generally substitute for any world championships during the year in which they take place (however, each class usually maintains its own records). The Olympics are staged every four years. Since 1994 Winter Olympics, 1994, they have alternated between the Summer Olympic Games, Summer and Winter Olympics every two years during the four-year Olympiad. Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, held in Olympia, Greece, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the Int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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The Grapes Of Wrath
''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, agricultural industry changes, and bank foreclosures forcing tenant farmers out of work. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they are trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California on the " mother road", along with thousands of other " Okies" seeking jobs, land, dignity, and a future. ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is frequently read in American high school and college literature classes due to its historical context and enduring legacy. A Hollywood film version, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, was released in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |