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Type of witticism
Wellerisms, named after sayings of Sam Weller in Charles Dickens's novel The Pickwick Papers, make fun of established clichés and proverbs by showing that they are wrong in certain situations, often when taken literally.[1] In this sense, Wellerisms that include proverbs are a type of anti-proverb. Typically a Wellerism consists of three parts: a proverb or saying, a speaker, and an often humorously literal explanation.
Sam Weller, from a watercolor by 'Kyd' c.1890
Sam Weller's propensity to use the types of constructions now called "Wellerisms" has inspired plays; sometimes, the playwrights have created even more Wellerisms.[2]
A type of Wellerism called a Tom Swifty incorporates a speaker attribution that puns on the quoted statement.[1]
^ abLundin, Leigh (2011-11-20). "Wellerness". Wellerisms and Tom Swifties. Orlando: SleuthSayers.
^George Bryan and Wolfgang Mieder. 1994. "As Sam Weller said, when finding himself on the stage": Wellerisms in dramatization of Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers. Proverbium 11:57–76. Also Online version
when taken literally. In this sense, Wellerisms that include proverbs are a type of anti-proverb. Typically a Wellerism consists of three parts: a proverb...
contained in a mid-19th century collection of proverbs where the title is a Wellerism: Ordnung muß sein, sagte Hans, da brachten sie ihn ins Spinnhaus (in English:...
manner in which it is attributed. Tom Swifties may be considered a type of wellerism. The standard syntax is for the quoted sentence to be first, followed...
publishing phenomenon—thanks largely to the introduction of the character Sam Weller in the fourth episode—that sparked Pickwick merchandise and spin-offs. Within...
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...
Underwood, Cordelia finds a copy of the Pickwick Papers in her uncle's chest. Wellerism Sergeant Buzfuz This article incorporates text from a publication now...
Journal of International Proverb Studies. Proverbs, Quotations, Sayings, Wellerisms". Archived from the original on 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2009-12-13. theatrecrafts...
construction is the wellerism, a speaker and a quotation, often with an unusual circumstance, such as the following, a representative of a wellerism proverb found...
type of adverbial pun promulgated during the 1950s and 1960s, a type of wellerism known as "Tom Swifties". Originally this kind of pun was called a "Tom...
related to the folklore of Berchta Public holidays in the Netherlands Wellerism Folklore of Belgium https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k887153n/f7...
dialogues: "Mother, no one abuses me." "Son, go and sit on the road." wellerism: "The horse has said, “I will help you to go up the steep, but you lead...
particularly those of historical fiction. weak ending weak foot well-made play Wellerism Weltschmerz A depressive mood of disappointment with—and alienation from—the...
proverb ending with 'quoth Hending' ”, a construction like that of a Wellerism. The Proverbs of Hendyng is also noted for containing the earliest attestation...
Proverbial interrogative, such as "Does a chicken have lips?" Wellerism, named after Sam Weller from Charles Dickens's The Pickwick Papers (1837), is a triad...
Some have collected proverbs and sayings of a certain structure, such as wellerisms (Mieder and Kingsbury). Some collections are a combination of these, such...
(imitating staves) are often referred to as parody-quote stev. These contain Wellerisms. Some researchers have presented theories about stev "relating to language...
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