perverb

perverb

English

Etymology

Blend of perverse +‎ proverb

Noun

perverb (plural perverbs)

Examples
A rolling stone catches the worm. Make hay while the cat's away.

1. A statement humorously constructed by merging together two proverbs.

   Hypernym: antiproverb

   • 2012, John R. Taylor, The Mental Corpus: How Language is Represented in the Mind (page 272)

     A perverb splices the first half of one proverb, or saying, with the second half of another.

   • 2013, Richard P. Honeck, A Proverb in Mind: The Cognitive Science of Proverbial Wit and Wisdom (page 186)

     These perverbs are consistent with the cognitive view's emphasis on the theoretical import of idiosyncratic proverbs. When a perverb is used in public, and some are, the theoretical issues raised are as pressing as they are for any production P-task.

See also

• bisociation