The wellerism--so called in English because it is a form of
expression typical or reminiscent of Sam Weller or his father, two
celebrated characters in Dickens's Pickwick Papers--is a major
subtype of the proverb. Known since Sumerian times, it has been
popular in most European languages and some African languages. As
defined by folklorists and proverb scholars, a wellerism consists
of three parts: a speech or statement (often a proverb),
identification of the speaker, and identification of the situation,
which gives the expression an ironic or humorous twist, often in
the form of a pun.
. "Prevention is better than cure," said the pig when it ran
away from the butcher.
. "We'll have to rehearse that," said the undertaker as the coffin
fell out of the car.
A Dictionary of Wellerisms is the first work to collect all of the
wellerisms recorded in the English language. Drawing on periodical
literature and other scholarly sources, Mieder and Kingsbury have
assembled, edited, and annotated a collection of wellerisms
including over 1500 texts found in British, American, Canadian, and
other English-language literatures and oral collections. Mieder's
preface, bibliography, and extensive introduction explaining the
history, meaning, and function of wellerisms, are supplemented by
an index of speakers and an index of situations.
Containing a wealth of wit and humor, A Dictionary of Wellerisms
is both entertaining and informative, appealing to the casual
browser as well as to students and scholars of literature,
psychology, folklore, linguistics, anthropology, and cultural
history."
General
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