Definition:
A text that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect. Adjective: parodic. See also:
- "A Meditation upon a Broomstick," by Jonathan Swift
- "Christmas Afternoon," by Robert Benchley
- "How Shall I Word It?" by Max Beerbohm
Etymology:
From the Greek, "beside" or "counter" plus "song"Examples:
- "'And that boy of his, Frito,' added bleary-eyed Nat Clubfoot, 'as crazy as a woodpecker, that one is.' This was verified by Old Poop of Backwater, among others. For who hadn't seen young Frito, walking aimlessly through the crooked streets of Boggietown, carrying little clumps of flowers and muttering about 'truth and beauty' and blurting out silly nonsense like 'Cogito ergo boggum?'"
(H. Beard, The Harvard Lampoon, Bored of the Rings, 1969) - "I rolled into Searchlight around midnight and walked into Rosie's beer joint to get a cold one after the ride over from Vegas. He was the first one I saw. I looked at him and he stared back at me with those flat blue eyes. He was giving me that kind of howdy wave with his good right arm while his left sleeve hung armless from the shoulder. He was dressed up like a cowboy."
(Cactus Jack, "The One-Armed Bandit," 2006 "Bad Hemingway" competition) - "Look at me, I’m white and nerdy
I wanna roll with
The gangstas
But so far they all think I’m too white and nerdy
"First in my class here at MIT
Got skills, I’m a champion at D&D
MC Escher--that’s my favorite MC
Keep your 40, I’ll just have an Earl Grey tea.
My rims never spin, to the contrary
You’ll find that they’re quite stationary.
All of my action figures are cherry
Steven Hawking’s in my library.
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
Got people beggin’ for my top eight spaces.
Yo, I know pi to a thousand places
Ain’t got no grills but I still wear braces."
(Weird Al Yankovic, "White and Nerdy"--parody of "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire)
Pronunciation: PAR-uh-dee
Also Known As: spoof
