A subverted rhyme, teasing rhyme or mind rhyme is the suggestion of a
rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
which is left unsaid and must be inferred by the listener.
A rhyme may be subverted either by stopping short, or by replacing the expected word with another (which may have the same rhyme or not). Teasing rhyme is a form of
innuendo
An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...
, where the unsaid word is
taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
or completes a sentence indelicately.
An example, in the context of
cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
:
where the presumption is that the listener anticipates the chant ending with "ass" rather than "other knee".
Subverted rhyme is often a form of
word play
Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonet ...
. The implied rhyme is inferable only from the context. This contrasts with
rhyming slang
Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...
from which the rhyming portion has been
clipped, which is part of the
lexicon
A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...
. (An example is ''dogs'', meaning "feet", a clipping of rhyming ''dog's meat''.)
Examples
A traditional example is the song "
Sweet Violets" from 1951, which begins:
Alan Bold described the 20th century anonymous
bawdy
Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy".
Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...
poem about the "young man of Brighton Pier" as "perhaps the finest of the teasing-rhyme variety of bawdy poem". An extract will illustrate the technique:
"
Something You Can Do with Your Finger
"Something You Can Do with Your Finger" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the animated television series ''South Park'', and the 56th episode of the series overall. It is the 9th produced episode of Season 4. "Something You Can Do with ...
" from ''
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'' uses
enjambment
In poetry, enjambment ( or ; from the French ''enjamber'') is incomplete syntax at the end of a line; the meaning 'runs over' or 'steps over' from one poetic line to the next, without punctuation. Lines without enjambment are end-stopped. The or ...
to replace taboo words with non-taboo phrases with the same initial syllable. For example ''shit>shih-tzu'' and ''meat>meeting'', in the following fragment, each start a new sentence instead of finishing the old one:
Similarly, the childhood rhyme "
Miss Suzie" ends each section with what sounds like a taboo word, only to continue with a more innocent word.
Another example is the 1985
Bowser and Blue
George Bowser and Rick Blue (real name Richard Elger), better known as Bowser and Blue, are a musical duo from Montreal who write and perform comedic songs. Their material ranges from absurdist humor ("I've Got a Great Big Dick", "Canadian Psych ...
song "Polka-Dot Undies", which begins:
The 2003 song "
Mr. Brightside
"Mr. Brightside" is the debut single of American rock band the Killers. It is taken from their debut studio album, '' Hot Fuss'' (2004). Written by band members Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning, it was one of the first songs the Killers ever w ...
" by
The Killers
The Killers are an American rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingd ...
transitions from the verses to the chorus with a mind rhyme of ''dick'':
History
Teasing rhymes have been popular since the 17th century. Though fairly rare in canonical literature, examples of mind rhyme can be found in the work of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
,
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...
,
Marianne Moore
Marianne Craig Moore (November 15, 1887 – February 5, 1972) was an American modernist poet, critic, translator, and editor. Her poetry is noted for formal innovation, precise diction, irony, and wit.
Early life
Moore was born in Kirkwood, ...
and others.
[Holdefer Charles (2009) ''’Shaving Cream’ and Other Mind Rhymes'', ]The Antioch Review
''The Antioch Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1941 at Antioch College in Ohio. The magazine was published on a quarterly basis. One of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States prior to it b ...
, Vol. 67, No. 1, Winter pp. 158-63. In
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
's ''
'Tis the Voice of the Lobster'' it is generally assumed that the last words of the interrupted poem could be supplied by the reader as "— eating the Owl".
See also
*
Crambo
Crambo is a rhyming game which, according to Joseph Strutt (engraver and antiquary), Joseph Strutt, was played as early as the 14th century under the name of the ABC of Aristotle. It is also known as capping the rhyme. The name may also be used t ...
*
Mondegreen
A mondegreen () is a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning. Mondegreens are most often created by a person listening to a poem or a song; the listener, being unable to hear a lyric clearly, substitutes w ...
*
Rhyming slang
Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...
*
Roses Are Red
References
* Abrams, M. H., ''A Glossary of Literary Terms,'' 2004.
Notes
{{Reflist
Rhyme
Humorous poems
Word play
Off-color humor