Transpositional pun
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
A transpositional pun is a complicated pun format with two aspects. It involves transposing the words in a well-known phrase or saying to get a daffynition-like clever redefinition of a well-known word unrelated to the original phrase. The redefinition is thus the first aspect, the transposition the second aspect. As a result, transpositional puns are considered among the most difficult to create, and commonly the most challenging to comprehend, particularly for non-native speakers of the language in which they're given (most commonly English).[1]
Examples
Pun | Original reference |
---|---|
Alimony: The bounty of mutiny.[2] | The Mutiny on the Bounty. |
Dieting: A waist is a terrible thing to mind. | "A mind is a terrible thing to waste", the motto of the United Negro College Fund. |
Hangovers: The wrath of grapes. | The Grapes of Wrath |
Olympic officials: The souls that time men's tries. | Thomas Paine's saying "These are the times that try men's souls". |
The Oboe: An ill wind nobody blows good. | "'tis an ill wind that blows nobody any good". |
Feudalism: It's your count that votes! | "It's your vote that counts!" |
Soldiers of fortune: Give Chance a piece | "Give peace a chance" |
Vigilantism: the soul of the Dark Knight | "The dark night of the soul" |
Trophies: the memory of persistence | "The Persistence of Memory" |