Transpositional pun
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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).[1]
Examples
| Transpositional pun | Original reference | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Dieting: A waist is a terrible thing to mind. | "A mind is a terrible thing to waste", the motto of the United Negro College Fund. | [2] |
| Hangovers: The wrath of grapes. | The Grapes of Wrath | [3] |
| Sports officials: The souls that time men's tries. | "These are the times that try men's souls.", Thomas Paine | [4] |
| The oboe: An ill wind that nobody blows any good. | "'Tis an ill wind that blows nobody any good." | [5] |
| Feudalism: It's your count that votes! | "It's your vote that counts!" | [6] |
| Soldiers of fortune: Give chance a piece. | "Give peace a chance." | [citation needed] |
See also
References
- ↑ Pollack, John (2012). The Pun Also Rises. Gotham Books. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1-59240-675-3.
- ↑ Smith, Ronald D. (2013). Strategic Planning for Public Relations. Routledge. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-415-50676-2.
- ↑ Oring, Elliott (1995). "Appropriate incongruities: Genuine and spurious". Humr. 8 (3): 229–236. doi:10.1515/humr.1995.8.3.229. ISSN 0933-1719.
- ↑ Isaacs, Stan (2024-05-14). Out of Left Field: A Sportswriter's Last Word. University of Illinois Press. PT78. ISBN 978-0-252-05665-9.
- ↑ Ammer, Christine (2013). The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-547-67658-6.
- ↑ Carr, Paul R. (2011). Does Your Vote Count?: Critical Pedagogy and Democracy. Peter Lang. p. xiv. ISBN 978-1-4331-0813-6.