Anti-cliché: Difference between revisions
→Notable examples: rm what is probably OR |
Merge from Man bites dog trope |
||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
Another concept of the anti-cliché relates to the relative merit of any particular news story. A report that will likely garner interest in the target readership must be considered newsworthy; reporting similar trivial events does not generate a sufficient level of interest. The most prominent example of this is the [[Man bites dog (journalism)|Man Bites Dog]] paradigm. A daily newspaper would become increasingly stale if there were constant reports of dogs biting men, as the phrase suggests. However, the reverse concept of a man biting the dog is unusual, perhaps novel and hence particularly newsworthy purely due to the inherent [[irony]] of such an event. |
Another concept of the anti-cliché relates to the relative merit of any particular news story. A report that will likely garner interest in the target readership must be considered newsworthy; reporting similar trivial events does not generate a sufficient level of interest. The most prominent example of this is the [[Man bites dog (journalism)|Man Bites Dog]] paradigm. A daily newspaper would become increasingly stale if there were constant reports of dogs biting men, as the phrase suggests. However, the reverse concept of a man biting the dog is unusual, perhaps novel and hence particularly newsworthy purely due to the inherent [[irony]] of such an event. |
||
== |
==Man bites dog== |
||
The "Man bites dog" trope is an anti-cliché that consists of [[variation on a theme|varying]] the meaning of a cliché by exchanging the position of the two main [[noun]]s, inverting their role. This [[trope]] has some similarities with [[anastrophe]]; however, anastrophes, being [[scheme (linguistics)|schemes]], don't change the meaning of the sentence and just operate on the [[syntax]].<ref>{{cite book |author= [[Barney R. Quinn]] and [[Arthur Quinn]]|coauthors= |title=Figures of speech: 60 ways to turn a phrase |pages=39-48 |year=1993 |quote= | url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=naa20iNBtzEC |isbn= }}</ref> Since the man bites dog trope overturns the meaning of the original sentence, it is often used in [[satire]] and [[comedy]], as illustrated by Woody Allen: |
|||
<blockquote>Years ago, my mother gave me a bullet...a bullet, and I put it in my breast pocket. Two years after that, I was walking down the street, when a berserk evangelist heaved a Gideon bible out a hotel room window, hitting me in the chest. Bible would have gone through my heart if it wasn't for the bullet.<ref>[[Woody Allen]] ''[http://www.ibras.dk/comedy/allen.htm#Bullet Bullet In My Breast Pocket]'' from album ''Standup Comic''</ref></blockquote> |
|||
== Notable examples of anti-cliché == |
|||
* [[I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue]] has made several games of this, including "Complete Quotes" and "Proverbs". |
* [[I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue]] has made several games of this, including "Complete Quotes" and "Proverbs". |
||
*[[Peter Schickele]]'s signoff "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain [[wiktionary:je ne sais quoi|je ne sais quoi]]" is a play on [[Duke Ellington]]'s composition "[[It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)]]". |
*[[Peter Schickele]]'s signoff "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain [[wiktionary:je ne sais quoi|je ne sais quoi]]" is a play on [[Duke Ellington]]'s composition "[[It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)]]". |
||
*"It's better to copulate than never" ([[Robert A. Heinlein]]). |
*"It's better to copulate than never" ([[Robert A. Heinlein]]). |
||
*[[Edward Albee]] makes use of anti-clichés in ''[[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?]]'', such as "left to my own vices" (Martha), "that's blood under the bridge" (George) and "our blond-eyed, blue haired son" (George). |
*[[Edward Albee]] makes use of anti-clichés in ''[[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?]]'', such as "left to my own vices" (Martha), "that's blood under the bridge" (George) and "our blond-eyed, blue haired son" (George). |
||
==References== |
|||
{{Reflist}} |
|||
== See also == |
== See also == |
||
* [[Antithesis]] |
|||
* [[Cliché]] |
* [[Cliché]] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
* [[Irony]] |
* [[Irony]] |
||
* [[Malapropism]] |
* [[Malapropism]] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
* [[Switcheroo]] |
|||
[[Category:Clichés]] |
[[Category:Clichés]] |
||
Revision as of 15:22, 8 September 2009
 |
An anti-cliché is a literary device or figure of speech that twists the meaning or phrasing of a known cliché. Although not named as such by literary critics, many writers, comedians, and poets have made use of the anti-cliché to provide a memorable and often ironic phrase, line, or passage.
Another concept of the anti-cliché relates to the relative merit of any particular news story. A report that will likely garner interest in the target readership must be considered newsworthy; reporting similar trivial events does not generate a sufficient level of interest. The most prominent example of this is the Man Bites Dog paradigm. A daily newspaper would become increasingly stale if there were constant reports of dogs biting men, as the phrase suggests. However, the reverse concept of a man biting the dog is unusual, perhaps novel and hence particularly newsworthy purely due to the inherent irony of such an event.
Man bites dog
The "Man bites dog" trope is an anti-cliché that consists of varying the meaning of a cliché by exchanging the position of the two main nouns, inverting their role. This trope has some similarities with anastrophe; however, anastrophes, being schemes, don't change the meaning of the sentence and just operate on the syntax.[1] Since the man bites dog trope overturns the meaning of the original sentence, it is often used in satire and comedy, as illustrated by Woody Allen:
Years ago, my mother gave me a bullet...a bullet, and I put it in my breast pocket. Two years after that, I was walking down the street, when a berserk evangelist heaved a Gideon bible out a hotel room window, hitting me in the chest. Bible would have gone through my heart if it wasn't for the bullet.[2]
Notable examples of anti-cliché
- I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue has made several games of this, including "Complete Quotes" and "Proverbs".
- Peter Schickele's signoff "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain je ne sais quoi" is a play on Duke Ellington's composition "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)".
- "It's better to copulate than never" (Robert A. Heinlein).
- Edward Albee makes use of anti-clichés in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, such as "left to my own vices" (Martha), "that's blood under the bridge" (George) and "our blond-eyed, blue haired son" (George).
References
- ^ Barney R. Quinn and Arthur Quinn (1993). Figures of speech: 60 ways to turn a phrase. pp. 39–48.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Woody Allen Bullet In My Breast Pocket from album Standup Comic