THE USE OF LANGUAGE PLAY AND PHRASEOLOGY IN SATIRE

Abstract

Satire intertwines humor with critique, often through inventive manipulations of language and phraseology. This article examines how language play and phraseological creativity function as tools of critique and humor in contemporary satirical discourse. Drawing on examples from the British satirical magazine Private Eye? The study analyzes varieties of wordplay such as puns, allusions, and modified idioms through which satirists convey a detached stance toward the object of satirical criticism while simultaneously producing humor. The study employs stylistic and pragmatic approaches, including P. Simpson’s model of satirical discourse and Relevance Theory. The introduction outlines key concepts and the context of prior research. The dataset comprises Private Eye articles from 2025 on socio-political topics. The findings show how satirists combine real events with mythical or metaphorical ones, forming a two-layered message. Satire’s dual structure (the prime and the dialectic element) enables criticism to be “encoded” in humor, prompting readers to resolve incongruities and draw inferences—a cognitively demanding process that is subsequently rewarded with an enhanced communicative effect. It is established that playful modifications of idioms, cultural references, and lexical polysemy not only entertain but also sharpen socio-political critique. This dual function of phraseological play strengthens solidarity between the satirist and the satiree while simultaneously distancing both from the object of ridicule. The conclusions summarize the linguistic and pragmatic mechanisms by which wordplay in satire contributes to stronger cognitive effects on the recipient. The results underscore the decisive role of phraseological creativity in satire’s persuasive force and its significance for shaping critical public discourse.