Perverb
Encyclopedia
A perverb also known as an anti-proverb
, is a humorous modification of a known proverb
, usually by changing its ending in a way that surprises or confounds the listener.
Perverbs were one of the many experimental styles explored by the French
literary
movement Oulipo
. The term is attributed to Maxine Groffsky. The concept was popularised by Oulipo collaborator Harry Mathews
in his Selected Declarations of Dependence (1977).
based on a proverb; namely, a sentence
that starts out like the proverb, but ends in such a way that the listener is forced to back up and re-parse
several words in order to get its real sense:
Perverbs beginning with Time flies like ... are popular examples in linguistics
, e.g. to illustrate concepts related to syntax
parsing. These examples are presumably inspired on the quip "Time flies like the wind; fruit flies like a banana
", attributed to Groucho Marx
.
To be effective in written form, a garden-path perverb must have the same spelling and punctuation as the original proverb, up to the point where the reader is supposed to back up, as in the "time flies" example above. These spelling or punctuation constraints may be relaxed in perverbs that are spoken, rather than written:
The perverb "A rolling stone gathers momentum" (based on the saying by Publilius Syrus
) is moderately popular in technology-minded circles, having been featured in several bumper sticker
s and T-shirt
s.
s on proverbs:
, especially on the Internet. In the 1970s, the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda
used to print them in its humor column. Some are derived from Russian proverbs by replacing Russian words with foreign ones, e.g.
Anti-proverb
An anti-proverb is the transformation of a stereotype word sequence – as e. g. a proverb, a quotation, or an idiom – for humorous effect. To have full effect, an anti-proverb must be based on a known proverb...
, is a humorous modification of a known proverb
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
, usually by changing its ending in a way that surprises or confounds the listener.
Perverbs were one of the many experimental styles explored by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
literary
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
movement Oulipo
Oulipo
Oulipo is a loose gathering of French-speaking writers and mathematicians which seeks to create works using constrained writing techniques. It was founded in 1960 by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais...
. The term is attributed to Maxine Groffsky. The concept was popularised by Oulipo collaborator Harry Mathews
Harry Mathews
Harry Mathews is an American author of various novels, volumes of poetry and short fiction, and essays.-Life:Born in New York City to an upper class family, Mathews was educated at private schools there and at the Groton School in Massachusetts before enrolling at Princeton University in 1947...
in his Selected Declarations of Dependence (1977).
Splicing of two proverbs
According to Quinion, the word perverb originally meant the result of splicing of the beginning of one proverb to the ending of another:- A rolling stone gets the wormWormThe term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
.
("A rolling stone gathers no moss" + "The early bird gets the worm".)
- The road to HellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
wasn’t paved in a day.
("The road to Hell is paved with good intentions" + "Rome wasn't built in a day".)
- A fool and his moneyMoneyMoney is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
is a friend indeed
("A fool and his money are soon apart" + "A friend in need is a friend indeed".)
Garden path proverb
The term has also been used to describe a garden path sentenceGarden path sentence
A garden path sentence is a grammatically correct sentence that starts in such a way that the readers' most likely interpretation will be incorrect; they are lured into an improper parse that turns out to be a dead end. Garden path sentences are used in psycholinguistics to illustrate the fact that...
based on a proverb; namely, a sentence
Sentence (linguistics)
In the field of linguistics, a sentence is an expression in natural language, and often defined to indicate a grammatical unit consisting of one or more words that generally bear minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it...
that starts out like the proverb, but ends in such a way that the listener is forced to back up and re-parse
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
several words in order to get its real sense:
- Time flies like to fly around clocks.
("time flies like an arrow" / the habits of "time flies", a fictitious kind of fly.)
Perverbs beginning with Time flies like ... are popular examples in linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, e.g. to illustrate concepts related to syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
parsing. These examples are presumably inspired on the quip "Time flies like the wind; fruit flies like a banana
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana
"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana," is a saying, often interpreted humorously, that is used in linguistics as an example of a garden path sentence and syntactic ambiguity, and in word play as an example of punning, double entendre, and antanaclasis.A fairly common variant is,...
", attributed to Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
.
To be effective in written form, a garden-path perverb must have the same spelling and punctuation as the original proverb, up to the point where the reader is supposed to back up, as in the "time flies" example above. These spelling or punctuation constraints may be relaxed in perverbs that are spoken, rather than written:
- Don't count your chickens will do it for you.
("dont count your chickens before they hatch" / "don't count, your chickens will …")
- Think before you were born you were already loved.
("think before you act" vs. "think: before you were born, you were …")
- You can't teach an old dog would be better for your students.
("you can't teach an old dog new tricks" / "you can't teach, an old dog would be …")
Proverb with surprising or silly ending
The term is also used in the weaker sense of any proverb that was modified to have an unexpected, dumb, amusing, or nonsensical ending — even if the changed version is no harder to parse than the original:- A rolling stoneRock (geology)In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
gathers momentumMomentumIn classical mechanics, linear momentum or translational momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object...
.
("A rolling stone gathers no moss".)
- All that glitters is not dull.
("All that glitters is not goldAll that glitters is not goldAll that glitters is not gold is a well-known saying, meaning that not everything that looks precious is precious. The expression, in various forms, originated in or before the 12th century and may date from Aesop....
".)
- Don't put the cartCartA cart is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people...
before the aardvarkAardvarkThe aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa...
.
("Don't put the cart before the horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
".)
- See a pinPinA pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.Pin may also refer to:* Award pin, a small piece of metal or plastic with a pin attached given as an award for some achievement...
and pick it up, and all day long you'll have a pin.
("See a pinPinA pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.Pin may also refer to:* Award pin, a small piece of metal or plastic with a pin attached given as an award for some achievement...
and pick it up, and all day long you'll have good luck".)
- A penny saved is a penny taxed.
("A penny saved is a penny earned".)
The perverb "A rolling stone gathers momentum" (based on the saying by Publilius Syrus
Publilius Syrus
Publilius Syrus, a Latin writer of maxims, flourished in the 1st century BC. He was a Syrian who was brought as a slave to Italy, but by his wit and talent he won the favor of his master, who freed and educated him....
) is moderately popular in technology-minded circles, having been featured in several bumper sticker
Bumper sticker
A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles - although they are often stuck onto other objects...
s and T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s.
Pun on a proverb
The word has also been used for punPun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s on proverbs:
- Slaughter is the best medicine.
("Laughter is the best medicine".)
- Fine swords butter no parsnips.
("Fine words butter no parsnips".)
Perverbs in other cultures
Perverbs are popular in RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, especially on the Internet. In the 1970s, the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper, founded on March 13th, 1925. It is published by "Izdatelsky Dom Komsomolskaya Pravda" .- History :...
used to print them in its humor column. Some are derived from Russian proverbs by replacing Russian words with foreign ones, e.g.
- По Хуану и сомбреро, "
[ JuanJuanJuan is a given name, the Spanish language version of John. It is very common in Spain and in Spanish-speaking communities around the world. The feminine form is Juana, or Juanita on its diminutive....
's] sombreroSombreroSombrero in English refers to a type of wide-brimmed hat originating in Mexico. In Spanish, however, it is the generic word for "hat", which originates from "sombra", meaning "shade"....
must fit Juan".
(from По Сеньке и шапка, "[ Simeon's] hat must fit Simeon", in the sense of "fame must match merit".)
External links
- Time Flies, a poem by Adam Rulli-Gibbs (2002—2006).