Form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work
Word play
or
wordplay
[1]
(also:
play-on-words
) is a
literary technique
and a form of
wit
in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or
amusement
. Examples of word play include
puns
, phonetic mix-ups such as
spoonerisms
, obscure words and meanings, clever
rhetorical
excursions, oddly formed sentences,
double entendres
, and telling character names (such as in the play
The Importance of Being Earnest
,
Ernest
being a
given name
that sounds exactly like the adjective
earnest
).
Word play is quite common in
oral cultures
as a method of reinforcing meaning. Examples of text-based (
orthographic
) word play are found in languages with or without alphabet-based scripts, such as
homophonic puns in Mandarin Chinese
.
Techniques
[
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]
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Some techniques often used in word play include interpreting
idioms
literally and creating contradictions and redundancies, as in
Tom Swifties
:
- "Hurry up and get to the back of the ship," Tom said
sternly
.
Linguistic fossils
and
set phrases
are often manipulated for word play, as in
Wellerisms
:
- "We'll have to rehearse that," said the undertaker as the coffin fell out of the car.
Another use of fossils is in using antonyms of
unpaired words
? "I was well-coiffed and sheveled," (
back-formation
from "disheveled").
Additional techniques include:
Spoonerisms
? an accidental transposition of initial letters or sounds, often with humorous results.
Examples:
‘a flock of bats’ instead of ‘a block of flats’
‘a bunny phone’ instead of ‘a funny bone’
Malapropisms
? replacing a word with a different word that sounds similar. This can be unintentional or done for comedic effect.
Examples:
‘I’ve never seen a flamingo dancer!’ (flamingo ? flamenco)
‘What do I look like, an inferior decorator?’ (inferior ? interior)
[2]
‘He is the very pineapple of politeness.’ (pineapple ? pinnacle)
[3]
Anthimeria
? altering a word's regular part of speech. This can occur naturally with the evolution of a language, but can also be done for emphasis or comedic effect.
Examples:
‘Did you Google the answer?’ ‘Google’ is a noun but it has become acceptable to use it as a verb through common usage.
‘The thunder would not peace at my bidding.’ Peace, a noun, is used here as a verb.
[4]
‘The little old lady turtled across the street.’ Turtle, a noun, is used as a verb to comedically describe a slow walker.
Double entendre
? Words or phrases with multiple meanings are used ambiguously with a humorous or sexual (or both) result.
Examples:
May West said, ‘Marriage is a fine institution, but I’m not ready for an institution.’
[5]
Groucho Marx said, ‘If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?’
[6]
Portmanteau
? Combining two words to create a new word.
Examples:
Smoke + Fog becomes Smog
Motor + Hotel becomes Motel
Camera + Recorder becomes Camcorder
Examples
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]
Most writers engage in word play to some extent, but certain writers are particularly committed to, or adept at, word play as a major feature of their work .
Shakespeare
's "quibbles" have made him a noted punster. Similarly,
P.G. Wodehouse
was hailed by
The Times
as a "comic genius recognized in his lifetime as a classic and an old master of farce" for his own acclaimed wordplay.
[
citation needed
]
James Joyce
, author of
Ulysses
, is another noted word-player. For example, in his
Finnegans Wake
Joyce's phrase "they were yung and easily freudened" clearly implies the more conventional "they were young and easily frightened"; however, the former also makes an apt pun on the names of two famous
psychoanalysts
,
Jung
and
Freud
.
An
epitaph
, probably unassigned to any
grave
, demonstrates use in rhyme.
- Here lie the bones of one 'Bun'
- He was killed with a gun.
- His name was not 'Bun' but 'Wood'
- But 'Wood' would not rhyme with gun
- But 'Bun' would.
Crossword puzzles
often employ wordplay to challenge solvers.
Cryptic crosswords
especially are based on elaborate systems of wordplay.
An example of modern word play can be found on line 103 of
Childish Gambino
's "III. Life: The Biggest Troll".
H2O plus my D, that's my hood, I'm living in it
Rapper
Milo
uses a play on words in his verse on "
True Nen
"
[7]
- Keep any heat by the fine China dinner set
- Your man's caught the chill and it ain't even winter yet
A farmer says, "I got soaked for nothing, stood out there in the rain bang in the middle of my land, a complete waste of time. I'll like to kill the swine who said you can win the
Nobel Prize
for being out standing in your field!".
Eminem
is known for the extensive wordplay in the lyrics of his music.
The
Mario Party
series is known for its mini-game titles that usually are puns and various plays on words; for example: "Shock, Drop, and Roll", "Gimme a Brake", and "Right Oar Left". These mini-game titles are also different depending on
regional differences
and take into account that specific region's culture.
Related phenomena
[
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]
Word play can enter common usage as
neologisms
.
Word play is closely related to
word games
; that is, games in which the point is manipulating words. See also
language game
for a linguist's variation.
Word play can cause problems for translators: e.g., in the book
Winnie-the-Pooh
a character mistakes the word "issue" for the noise of a
sneeze
, a resemblance which disappears when the word "issue" is translated into another language.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"definition of wordplay"
. Oxford Dictionaries Online. Archived from
the original
on 11 August 2011
. Retrieved
6 August
2013
.
- ^
"The Little Atheist".
All in the Family
. Created by Norman Lear, season 6, episode 11, Norman Lear Productions, 1975.
- ^
Sheriden, Richard (1998).
The Rivals
. Dover.
- ^
Shakespeare, William.
King Lear
. Dover, 1994.
- ^
Byrne, Robert.
The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said
. Touchstone, 2003.
- ^
You Bet Your Life
. Created by John Guedel. John Guedel Productions, 1950.
- ^
Scallops hotel ? True Nen
, retrieved
3 December
2021
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Word play
.