PERVERBS AND DETORSIO COMIC PROVERB MODIFICATION BETWEEN YESTERDAY AND TODAY

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Veröffentlicht: Jul 26, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29162/pv.43.1.1175
Ausgabe
Bd. 43 Nr. 1 (2026): Proverbium
102-137
Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s)

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Autor/innen-Biografie

Marco Luchi

Departamento de Filología Clásica

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Pza. de Menéndez Pelayo s/n

28040 Madrid, Spain

Hauptsächlicher Artikelinhalt

Marco Luchi
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5361-2623

Abstract

Since antiquity, paremias and phraseologisms have always been modified for comic purpose. Latin rhetoricians and scholars used to call this type of manipulation of proverbs detorsio. Closer inspection reveals that the stylistic devices employed by ancient authors are the same as those found in modern perverbs, a term used to collectively describe anti-,pseudo-, quasi- and twisted proverbs. The aim of this article is to show how the modern concept of perverbs and the ancient one of detorsio correspond. To prove this thesis, I will first define the concept of perverb and that of comic detorsio using a few examples. Next, I will show how certain mechanisms present in modern perverbs are also present in ancient examples of comic detorsio. To this end, I will use the comparative method, juxtaposing ancient and modern examples. Special focus will be placed on Petronius’ Satyricon: this 1st-century Latin novel abounds in proverbs and idiomatic expressions that are used for linguistic mimesis and characterization of the characters.
 

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Zitationsvorschlag
Luchi, M. „PERVERBS AND DETORSIO: COMIC PROVERB MODIFICATION BETWEEN YESTERDAY AND TODAY“. Proverbium, Bd. 43, Nr. 1, Juli 2026, S. 102-137, doi:10.29162/pv.43.1.1175.

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