A squib is a brief satirical or witty piece of writing or speech, like a
lampoon
Lampoon may refer to:
*Parody
*Amphol Lampoon (born 1963), Thai actor and singer
*''The Harvard Lampoon'', a noted humor magazine
** ''National Lampoon'' (magazine), a defunct offshoot of ''Harvard Lampoon''
***National Lampoon, Incorporated, a 20 ...
, or a short, sometimes humorous piece in a newspaper or magazine, used as a filler. It can be intended to ignite thinking and discourse by others on topics of theoretical importance, but is often less substantial than this and just humorous (see
The Daily Squib
The Daily Squib is a British satirical online publication created by satire writer Aur Esenbel, that was officially launched on April Fool's Day, 2007. Its coverage extends across world politics, science, technology, business, sports and health. ...
).
One of the most famous squibs in English literature is ''The Candidate'' by
Thomas Gray
Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...
.
In
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
, the term "squib" is used for a very short
scholarly article
Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or theses. The part of academic written output that is not formally publ ...
; this usage in the field was popularized by
John R. “Haj” Ross in the 1960s. A squib may outline anomalous data but not suggest a solution, or develop a minor theoretical argument. A particularly interesting variety of squibs are the so-called snippets, which are "the ideal footnote: a side remark that taken on its own is not worth lengthy development but that needs to be said".
The online journal Snippets is dedicated to this type of squib.
See also
*
Pasquino
Pasquino or Pasquin (Latin: ''Pasquillus'') is the name used by Romans since the early modern period to describe a battered Hellenistic-style statue perhaps dating to the third century BC, which was unearthed in the Parione district of Rome i ...
References
Linguistics
Essays
Newspapers
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