Words are the invention of thought and, once spoken, become the reality of the mind; when they come together they give life to thought as essay, humor, criticism and the hundred other conditions.
Napoleon said that there are only two powers in the world, the sword and the pen, and concluded that the pen will ultimately triumph. This, then, lends a kind of credence to the observation that the word it is perhaps the most serious, solemn, and somber instrument for the salvation of society that has yet been devised, alliteration notwithstanding.
Indeed, kingdoms have crumbled due to a careless word said in jest, and it is this consideration that brings us to the heart of this essay. Too often the word it has been given an unintended weight. Too often, the spoken word has been portrayed as a villain when closer examination would reveal it to be at best a bon mot, at worst a mere joke. This exploration into the lighter side of word use will divulge the gist of the phrase, the clause, the fodder in jokes, and more essentially the use of the word. words, even when put together with seemingly inappropriate syntax, they will create or add new thoughts to those with which they are expressed.
Realizing this is the subject of this essay. While the reader may find a dozen other word groups such as jouterie, dido, and badinage, fatuous expressions that have long been consigned to the trash can out of use, most lend themselves almost exclusively to spoken word; joke and related expressions of comic intent are based on intonation, and as such have little impact when printed. Etymological wisdom has determined that the four groupings of words noted in the title of this article embody the predominance of sayings and offerings of words that present, through their use, the lighter side of the history of civilization.
It is recognized that normal linguistic usage easily conflates and confuses the meaning and uses of these different thought transmissions; therefore, this article aims to outline the individual definitions of each type of word-phrase and demonstrate how they retain their individuality and at the same time, in fact perhaps in the same sentence, can be combined to create a new thought.
The four topics are presented in a ranking order that the author considers appropriate. The first word assemblage, if we may, is the most inscrutable, while at the same time lending itself to scrutability and thus being the most easily positioned locution for humor and light exposition. This delightful way of expressing himself has “come home,” so to speak, in recent reviews (i.e., this writer’s essays: The definition of non sequiturY The definitive non-sequence).
Tea Without Sequitur it apparently retains a unique if disparate clarity of purpose, but otherwise becomes exposable. It is the only word grouping of the four presented in this document that can be used with or without a “launch pad”, so to speak, being Latin for “does not follow”. Thus, one may find the phrase Non Sequitur after a sentence, clause, or phrase, or see it alone to declaim in opposition to a preceding paragraph, or simply as a confused thought in itself. When an entire clause follows, the “does not follow” and the seemingly aberrant phrase will appear to be connected, yet may at the same time appear to be a disparate element within the context of the material. An example (although not found in my recent post): The Stammering Book, 365 Non Sequiturs to Live By) in its purest form is:
We walk a very fine line in life; an anthill is a complicated structure.
As may be obvious, a puzzle develops within the second sentence because it has its own independence with a subject and a predicate. This particular idiom becomes a phony because the descriptive follow-up Non Sequitur clause could conceivably be supporting the introductory phrase, and yet it struggles as logic. It also allows other meanings to be found within the sentence, giving rise to other postulates-ergo, the pure Non Sequitur.
Tea Nice word ranks second, although from the French language. In addition to their viticultural arts and possibly their culinary achievements, the French have given the world substantial contributions in delicious phraseology developed in the 17th and 18th centuries. Literally, Good Word means “good word,” but literal translations often miss the gist of the meaning found in the original language. In French, these words connote sharpness, a phrase happily pronounced, a clever combination of words that delight, and gratuitous compliments. An example of a complete Bon Mot of the latter style:
Your presence delights the senses and stimulates the emotions of my heart.
As may be obvious to Francophiles, such a sentence evokes an 18th-century “dandy” approaching a beautiful woman strolling in the park, doffing her wide-brimmed, plumed hat with a flourish and a wide bow. He utters her earlier compliment quietly for her ears only and she blushes at her grace. You can easily see how the Bon Mot allows for a pleasurable incantation and, at the same time, instantly suggests an implication beyond flattery.
the fairly common what p it ranks third on the list of disparate words with something in common, although lexicographers rank it with both the negative “mockery” and the positive “joke”. The joke often stands alone, especially when used humorously. It is often viewed strictly as “jokes,” and yet when spoken in that context it can often have a dual intent, the joke and the taunt, which is why linguistic anthropologists assign it both assignments. For our purposes, however, it is the prankster we will be addressing, not wishing to endorse the potential negative.
His suit is so elegant that he is at the forefront of style.
One can easily see that a “pun” (another form of wit) is the vehicle by which the above Quip succeeds and yet has a pleasure of its own. It can also be seen that this seemingly casual comment could also be taken as a pick. Indeed, the essence of the joke is that it contains the predominant humorous element but offers veiled potential as a joke.
Finally we come to the ubiquitous and much-maligned Cliche. This form of language has been developing for centuries, each culture adding to the pile through endless use, with no end in sight. However, it is worth realizing that this style of phrasing arises due to common usage, but when stating a new and biting observation that has the potential to become an enduring cliché, it is usually taken as a witty and even charming expression. . Banality comes with age as well as usage, and most linguists would be caught with their low syntax if heard saying:
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
This cliché, by the way, comes from a 19th-century British grouse hunting expression, and at that point it “said it all” when the hunter returned to his cabin with only a small bird to display during a day of stalking. through the field and the stream. As such, it can be easily aligned with many other situations, such as the seamstress’s “a stitch in time saves nine”. It should also be obvious to the reader that the Cliché easily lends itself to Non Sequitur and is often applied as such by the jester in a group. An example is: “On the other hand, the cream of the crop can go bad.” (It can be “a show stopper” when following someone’s pretentious forecast.)
The four representations in this exhibition to note their disparate similarity are expected to give the reader pause and provide meaning. We are sure that the reader has already assigned the title of this essay as an oxymoron, itself another form of wit. To the literati we can say: On the one hand scholarship is its own reward, and on the other hand, paraphrasing Shakespeare, the above can be considered “full of sound and fury, meaning… anything?”
Oh Lord, what intricacies we weave when we first practice to perceive.