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  2. Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_flies_like_an_arrow;...

    An archer about to loose an arrow. A fruit fly on a banana peel. " Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana " is a humorous saying that is used in linguistics as an example of a garden path sentence or syntactic ambiguity, and in word play as an example of punning, double entendre, and antanaclasis.

  3. Pun - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pun

    Punch, 25 February 1914.The cartoon is a pun on the word "Jamaica", which pronunciation [dʒəˈmeɪkə] is a homonym to the clipped form of "Did you make her?". [1] [2]A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. [3]

  4. Tongue-in-cheek - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue-in-cheek

    Tongue-in-cheek. A newspaper clipping from 1833, in which a tailor whose coat was stolen from a bowling alley advertises an offer to alter the coat to fit the thief. Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.

  5. Idiom - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiom

    An idiom is a phrase or expression that usually presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase. Some phrases which become figurative idioms, however, do retain the phrase's literal meaning. Categorized as formulaic language, an idiom's figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning. [1]

  6. Double entendre - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_entendre

    Double entendres generally rely on multiple meanings of words, or different interpretations of the same primary meaning. They often exploit ambiguity and may be used to introduce it deliberately in a text. Sometimes a homophone can be used as a pun. When three or more meanings have been constructed, this is known as a "triple entendre", etc. [4]

  7. English-language idioms - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_idioms

    An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).

  8. Taking the piss - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taking_the_piss

    Taking the piss is a colloquial term meaning to mock at the expense of others, or to be joking, without the element of offence. It is also sometimes phrased as a question, 'are they taking the piss?', when referring to an individual who takes above and beyond what is thought acceptable, similar to the expression, 'give them an inch and they take a mile.' [1] It is a shortening of the idiom ...

  9. Literal and figurative language - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literal_and_figurative...

    An idiom is an expression that has a figurative meaning often related, but different from the literal meaning of the phrase. Example: You should keep your eye out for him. A pun is an expression intended for a humorous or rhetorical effect by exploiting different meanings of words. Example: I wondered why the ball was getting bigger. Then it ...