PARONOMASIA
noun, a play on words: pun
In a dimly lit cafe, two men drink themselves into a state of paronomasia--giddy verbal play!
Puns (essentially, humorous uses of words to suggest more than one interpretation) have their share of critics as well as fans. English philosopher-poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, for example, called puns "the lowest form of wit." Film critic John Serba more recently called paronomasia an easy, lazy route to comedy." "Paronomasia," which derives from a Greek verb meaning "to call with the slight change of name," can simply be a synonym of "pun." But it can also be used, somewhat playfully, to suggest an uncontrollable urge to make puns (as is it were a dread disease, rather than harmless word play). For example, longtime New York Times Magazine language columnist William Safire once declared that "an epidemic of paronomasia has raced around the world."
hugs always
karen charlie and enzo
No comments:
Post a Comment