 #2 (permalink) Sat Nov 27, 2010 15:10 pm Idiom Transformation |
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From an on-line PDF:
The types of idiom transformation fall into two basic groups: structural and semantic
transformation . Structural idiom transformations affect both the idiom’s structure and meaning, while semantic transformation only alters the meaning and leaves the structure intact. Both kinds can be considered as wordplay because they both involve a confrontation of two linguistic structures with more or less similar forms and more or less different meanings (i.e. the idiom in its usual form and meaning and the changed form and meaning.
In the following two examples, only one word has been substituted and the original idiom is still clearly visible:
Pointy shoes, even if they have a very long point, cannot absorb the impact of a
human foot kicking what is, when all is said and screamed, a piece of wood with a
thin cloth and leather wrapping. (Unseen Academicals 151)
‘This is what it comes to!’ muttered Colon. ‘Decent women can’t walk down the
street without being eaten! Right, you bastards, you’re. . . you’re geography —’
(Guards! Guards! 271)
In the first fragment, ‘done’ is substituted by ‘screamed’, thus adjusting a perfectly
normal idiom to the context, making it more lively and funny at the same time. In the second fragment, Colon confuses ‘history’ with ‘geography’, thus unwittingly
altering the idiom ‘you’re history’.
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 Mister Micawber
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