wittiness of proverbs

[Baker, John]

        Some are.  Consider:

                Marry in haste, repent at leisure.  (Unusual use of
"leisure.")
                Many a mickle maks a muckle.  (Unusual words.  I
understand that "mickle" is misused in the proverb and actually is a
synonym of "muckle.")
                Handsome is as handsome does.  (I started to say,
"Adjective used as noun," but I'm not really sure what's going on here.
Anyway, unusual use of "handsome.")
                Promises, like pie-crust, are made to be broken.
(Different senses of "broken.")

        And, of course, many proverbs rely on rhyme or alliteration for
their effect (see Ron's examples).

John Baker



-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of RonButters at AOL.COM
Sent: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 1:11 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: wittiness of proverbs

Are proverbs generally witty in this way? A stitch in time saves nine?
Rolling stones gather no moss? It takes two to tango?


In a message dated 11/28/07 11:06:33 AM, cdoyle at UGA.EDU writes:


> Paremiologishly speaking, I'd say part of the wit of the proverb "You
> can't unring a bell" consists in the rarity (if not, indeed, the
> presumed
> nonexistence) of "unring" as a word.
>
> --Charlie
>

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