💬 Paronomasia – Definition:
Paronomasia is a literary device that refers to a pun — a play on words that exploits the multiple meanings of a term or similar-sounding words for humorous or rhetorical effect.
It comes from the Greek paronomazein, meaning “to call with a slight change of name.”
💡 Example:
- “A boiled egg every morning is hard to beat.”
→ The phrase “hard to beat” plays on both the literal sense (you can’t physically beat a boiled egg) and the figurative sense (it’s excellent). - Shakespeare, in Romeo and Juliet: Mercutio: “Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.”
→ The word grave means both serious and dead, creating a darkly humorous pun.
✨ Key Point:
- Paronomasia = pun
- Relies on sound similarity or word ambiguity
- Used to create wit, humor, or irony
And there it is! Now go ahead and use paronomasia in your CXC prep/CSEC prep.
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