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I'm looking for a single verb, or at least a succinct way of saying that you are slightly, but intentionally, modifying a famous phrase.

For example, if I were to refer to Alexander the Great's campaigns as "blood, sweat and spears", this would be a pun on the titular phrase from Winston Churchill's "blood, sweat and tears" speech. Could I, in one word, say: "To _____ Churchill, we are about to see 'blood, sweat and spears'"?

Addendum

There are some excellent suggestions for the case where the modification is meant to be witty or funny. However, there should be some options for a more sombre use as follows:

"To _____ Churchill, due to the difference in public spending, an iron curtain is being drawn across this country".

I should clarify that a further meaning I wish to convey with the chosen word is that I am in no way attempting to falsify, criticise or contest the original saying. Quite the opposite, I am taking a respected saying and altering it for humour or emphasis. Please bear in mind that the above two examples are purely rhetorical; I'm not writing a comedy sketch or biography.

Mari-Lou A
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Valentin Aslanyan
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    For my money, the similarity between 'spears' and 'tears' is far too weak for it to qualify as a pun, what you are doing is evoking the Churchillian phrase. – Spagirl Apr 24 '17 at 09:19
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    Thanks, 'evoke' actually sounds very reasonable. I gave the sentence purely as an example, however. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 24 '17 at 09:35
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    I immediately thought of "With apologies to Churchill..." (though Phil Sweet beat me to it), but OP is looking for one word. I don't think there is any one word that has the same sense of 'jocular paraphrase'. – Josh Friedlander Apr 24 '17 at 13:17
  • "reference" sometimes works. – Jason C Apr 24 '17 at 20:44
  • Wasn't Churchill paraphrasing Shakespeare, by the way? –  Apr 25 '17 at 00:44
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    If you were removing potentially objectionable language from the altered quote, bowdeleriize might work. Merriam-Webster gives two meanings for the verb, one specific and one more general: "1 literature : to expurgate (as a book) by omitting or modifying parts considered vulgar {bowdlerize the text} 2 : to modify by abridging, simplifying, or distorting in style or content." So, for example, you might say, "To bowdlerize N.W.A., 'To heck with tha police!'" – Sven Yargs Apr 25 '17 at 05:23
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    I've upvoted a couple of the answers below and I'd also like to add this: Let your pun speak for itself. What makes a pun (more) effective is that it comes out of nowhere. For example, if you say, "To paraphrase Churchill, we are about to see 'blood, sweat and spears,'" it gives the audience a little jolt at the end to see that you hadn't actually paraphrased Churchill and had actually given it a little spin. Comedians would refer to this as comedic timing, effective because not only had you not hinted at your pun, but you had actually misled audiences to think that you would have paraphrased. – Teacher KSHuang Apr 25 '17 at 08:19
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    And just as an aside to my comment, to me, "parrot" sounds it'd be a fun word to put in there: To parrot Churchill, we are about to see 'blood, sweat and spears.' Parrots often parrot people incorrectly and it would would let you sidestep that whole mess about not using the actual meaning of the word "paraphrase." – Teacher KSHuang Apr 25 '17 at 08:21
  • @TeacherKSHuang Thanks, but as I have now clarified in the question I'm looking for a word to use in such a situation (where I am certain I want to draw attention to the fact), not the optimal comedic effect. Similarly, "parrot" would not fit well in the second example given in the post. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 25 '17 at 09:02
  • Sorry, I had probably misled you a bit; just because I had called it comedic timing, it's not about the "optimal comedic effect." It's just for "effect." Meanwhile, in my answer below, I've also supplied "echo" as an alternative if you do not like "parrot," but I would like to note that 1) "parrot" is actually quite appropriate for a quote about Churchill as he had had a pet parrot (so you get two puns for the price of one), and 2) many people say, "to parrot Churchill." – Teacher KSHuang Apr 25 '17 at 09:15
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    I'm tempted to suggest 'mangle' or 'butcher', although those may not make the intentionality obvious. – trikeprof Apr 25 '17 at 21:07
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    Simply 'after Churchil' would convey the sense. – ARi Apr 26 '17 at 07:13
  • I would use the word "bowdlerize," though obviously in an expanded sense. – David DeCrane Apr 25 '17 at 18:56
  • To "Tweet" it perhaps? – matt_black Apr 26 '17 at 20:41
  • In your context, what's wrong with using 'pun' as a verb? E.g., To pun Churchill... – kraftydevil Apr 29 '17 at 09:01
  • ‘adapt’? ‘borrow from’? – Anton Sherwood Apr 30 '17 at 00:20

16 Answers16

165

I think you may use paraphrase:

  • to repeat something written or spoken using different words, often in a humorous form or in a simpler and shorter form that makes the original meaning clearer.

(Cambridge Dictionary)

  • To paraphrase Churchill , we are about to to see "blood, sweat and spears".
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    My first thought was exactly that - to use paraphrase. Of course, then I read a dictionary definition such as the one you provided, realising that technically it would be a misuse of the word. I am not "making the original clearer", but rather changing the meaning to something else, while keeping the framework of a well-known quote for the sake of its notoriety. My second thought was to intentionally misuse the word "paraphrase", which I may also end up doing. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 24 '17 at 11:04
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    That's the word I'd used in your case. –  Apr 24 '17 at 11:10
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    Paraphrase is a good choice; rephrase is another. – michael.hor257k Apr 24 '17 at 12:08
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    @ValentinAslanyan - Try googling "to paraphrase Churchill", and you'll find plenty of hits using it in the sense you are looking for. It is the most common and most understandable word for your purpose. – AndyT Apr 24 '17 at 14:48
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    @AndyT I totally agree, and as mentioned it was my first thought before posting on here. However, as I mention, it is strictly speaking incorrect or misleading, because paraphrasing is generally used to mean that the original meaning is preserved. I am changing the phrase and the meaning. This misuse of the word is common as you suggest, hence why I considered it in the first place. But it is indeed a misuse, just as "epicenter" (literally "above the center") is very frequently misused as a fancy word for "center". – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 24 '17 at 15:00
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    I would find this usage acceptable in extemporaneous speech, but not in formal writing or speech where precision is important. – 1006a Apr 24 '17 at 15:05
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    See: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/42655/correct-meaning-of-paraphrase – Winston Ewert Apr 24 '17 at 15:34
  • @WinstonEwert Thanks, it seems that the debate on whether it is right to use the word paraphrase in this manner is not a new one. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 24 '17 at 16:22
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    @ValentinAslanyan The only reason to paraphrase Churchill is to change the meaning. – michael.hor257k Apr 24 '17 at 16:38
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    "Paraphrase" isn't the best word in my opinion, but it's the one most commonly used, so not much point in fighting it. "Allude" is another possibility. Or you might say "with apologies to Winston Churchill, …" – WGroleau Apr 25 '17 at 05:25
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    @ValentinAslanyan I am not sure why Cambridge says that paraphrase "makes the original clearer". The word is greek and its meaning in greek does not imply that at all. It only implies alteration. – Ma0 Apr 25 '17 at 08:57
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    @ValentinAslanyan "A restatement of a text in different words, often to clarify meaning." I.e. clarifying meaning is not implicit and does not have to be the intention. The use of the term 'paraphrase' when potentially misquoting someone is considered by many to be idiomatic. – Pharap Apr 25 '17 at 11:21
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    Paraphrasis, used literally, is the act of restating a passage, keeping the meaning intact, but the expression "to paraphrase X" is a fixed phrase introducing an pun or other play on words, based (or ironically not based), on a well-known quotation. My favorite ran (approximately), "To paraphrase British author, historian, and critic Sir Kenneth Clark, 'Go fuck yourself.'" Since literal truth is not important in humor, you can also say, "In the word of", or "to quote". – Michael Lorton Apr 25 '17 at 13:14
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    But doesn't paraphrase simply restate something? If you change the meaning, you are not paraphrasing. – Stephen S Apr 25 '17 at 16:19
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    @ValentinAslanyan The definition does not require "making the original clearer" -- that is given as one of two examples of ways in which the original may be modified, the other being described by the phrase "in a humorous form." The use of the word "often" in the definition indicates that neither example is actually required. But in fact your use-case is somewhat humorous, so I have no idea why you are objecting to this definition. – Kyle Strand Apr 25 '17 at 19:09
  • -1 from me because paraphrase doesn't carry the sense of modifying the meaning. If there were no better alternative, it might just be acceptable, but here we've already seen 'riff' and 'with apologies to', both of which are far better. – Dominic Cronin Apr 30 '17 at 12:40
  • -1 from me also because I do not see that paraphrase supports a change in meaning. In this case, I think the Churchill quote is famous enough that people will think the writer does not know what paraphrase means: with less well-known quotes, it will misrepresent the original writer (which is not what the OP intends). – AAT May 01 '17 at 12:29
94

Is 'Misquote' not an acceptable answer?

Misquote - quote (a person or a piece of written or spoken text) inaccurately.

Bhoomika Arora
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    Sorry, I meant that the change was intentional. Original question has been modified. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 24 '17 at 09:06
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    @ValentinAslanyan I could still see this being used, in a humorous way, "...as we finish this brewing convention, just remember, to misquote FDR, there is nothing to fear but beer itself." – BradC Apr 24 '17 at 13:55
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    @Valentin "misquote" is perfectly appropriate to use for intentionally changed quotes – curiousdannii Apr 24 '17 at 14:15
  • @curiousdannii I agree that I am - strictly speaking - misquoting someone, just as I am - strictly speaking - metabolizing carbohydrates, but the additional context that I am intentionally modifying a well-known quote might make the word inappropriate. Though the good example by BradC works pretty well, so it's certainly an option. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 24 '17 at 14:30
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    @ValentinAslanyan: It wouldn't be inappropriate - the phrase "to misquote ________, ..." is commonly used in this way. – psmears Apr 24 '17 at 15:25
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    This is obviously the best choice. – TonyK Apr 24 '17 at 16:56
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    @TonyK I'll add my 2c to this and agree with you. Both 'evoke' and 'paraphrase' are actually wrong, though 'with apologies to' also works. –  Apr 24 '17 at 19:49
  • @C.M.Weimer Why is evoke wrong? – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 25 '17 at 09:07
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    @Valentin, If you say that you are misquoting someone, it's clear that it's intentional. (If it was unintended, how would you know to draw attention to that?) Readers or listeners do understand this logical consequence without any additional prompting. – Toby Speight Apr 25 '17 at 11:51
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    @ValentinAslanyan Evoke means "to bring to mind." It has nothing to do with quoting somebody. You would use evoke in sentences like, "Seeing the ship on the horizon evoked a strong feeling of wanderlust." –  Apr 25 '17 at 12:55
  • @C.M.Weimer Then by the logic of this answer (in that you are strictly speaking misquoting), evoke is works here, because you are bringing to mind Winston Churchill and his speeches. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 25 '17 at 14:43
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    This is the correct one - evoke doesn't hark of misquoting, and paraphrase means to say the same thing in different words. – Stephen S Apr 25 '17 at 16:18
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    @ValentinAslanyan Yes, you are bringing to mind Churchill, but in a way that doesn't make it clear that you are aware that his actual words were different, and that you have a rhetorical reason for changing them. In fact, if you use "evoke," it's very likely listeners will think you have simply gotten the quote wrong. – erickson Apr 25 '17 at 23:26
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    There is simply no imperative for "evoke" to imply that there is a quotation. "Invoke" maybe. – Yorik Apr 28 '17 at 16:49
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With apologies to -

Although this has been trotted out a bit too often, it nevertheless does what you want - it shows you know what you did, and acknowledges you did it on purpose. It is the opposite of "no pun intended."

With apologies to

Used before the name of an author or artist to indicate that something is a parody or adaptation of their work.

2001 - This Old House - With apologies to Robert Frost, boundary expert Walter Robillard says, 'Good fences on the proper line make good neighbours'.

http://www.english-for-students.com/with-apologies-to.html

some examples -

English notes for American circulation : with apologies to Charles Dickens by Tangye, Richard, Sir, 1833-1906
(Refers to Dickens' American Notes for General Circulation

The book of William: with apologies to Edward Lear
( A parody of Edward Lear's The book of nonsense lampooning Kaiser Wilhelm II.)

Phil Sweet
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    This is also a reasonable option, though it has the downside of being less precise with multiple differing meanings. Furthermore, and with apologies to Edmund Blackadder, it is not a common phrase down our way. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 24 '17 at 13:43
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    "No pun intended" also often means the opposite of "no pun intended". See What is so bad about puns? for instance. – Mr Lister Apr 25 '17 at 09:58
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    As a native speaker of (American) English, this is the clearest, most intuitive, and most appropriate phrase when humor is intended. Most of the other answers, while technically accurate, carry negative connotations -- unfitting for humor -- and would seem more appropriate when the speaker's intention was to criticize someone else for misuse of another's words. – Michael - sqlbot Apr 28 '17 at 19:28
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To bastardise Churchill's famous saying, I have nothing to offer but blood, sweat and misquotes

The link is to Cambridge dictionary, where bastardise is defined as

to change something in a way that makes it fail to represent the values and qualities that it is intended to represent.

Note that you bastardise the quote not the individual -- your misquote is the illegimate child of the writing not the writer.

Having speculated that this is mainly a British term I tried ngrams (including the --ize spelling) and found a couple interesting things:

  • It's only marginally more prevalent in British than American English.
  • Usage peaked in the 1820s--1840s.

But I wonder if ngrams isn't the best source for this sort of thing -- the class of books in which it might be used is rather small as some books might prefer a more formal term while others would have no need for it.

Chris H
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To riff on Churchill, we are about to see 'blood, sweat and spears'"

cf. What does "a riff on Shakespeare" mean?

cf. What does "life's a beach" mean?

A riff is a memorable musical phrase, often as the opening to a song or solo in jazz and rock. To riff on someone or something is to improvise from existing musical phrase. This meaning has transferred to other fields, e.g. stand-up comedy in which witty monologues are often called riffs.

See meaning #4 - riff as a noun from Merriam-Webster. To riff on is the verb form:

1 : an ostinato phrase (as in jazz) typically supporting a solo improvisation; also, a piece based on such a phrase

2 : a rapid energetic often improvised verbal outpouring; especially : one that is part of a comic performance

3 : a succinct usually witty comment

4: a distinct variation or take

"a disturbing riff on the Cinderella story" — Daria Donnelly

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/riff

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    This works, though in my opinion it's used more in a humorous context. I've added another example where I think it doesn't quite work. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 24 '17 at 14:32
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You say you are looking for 'way of saying that you are slightly, but intentionally, modifying a famous phrase'. Breaking that down, it seems that the modification would be obvious, leaving the need to clarify that it has been made deliberately and not through ignorance.

If this is correct, I would suggest that 'Evoke' would work in your sample sentence

Bring or recall (a feeling, memory, or image) to the conscious mind. ‘the sight evoked pleasant memories of his childhood’

hence

"To evoke Churchill, we are about to see 'blood, sweat and spears'"

Spagirl
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    @Valentin Aslanyan, If you are being witty, then "To riff on Churchill, we are about to see blood, sweat and spears.'" seems better to me than the more neutral verb, evoke. –  Apr 24 '17 at 13:59
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    Evoke barely makes sense in this context. It certainly doesn't suggest an intentional misquote or play on words. A listener might subjectively feel like a speaker's style, speech, or delivery evokes Churchill. For a speaker to say they are evoking Churchill sounds presumptuous. At best, they might invoke him. – erickson Apr 25 '17 at 14:11
  • @erickson I did consider the pros and cons of evoke, versus invoke, but decided I was comfortable that evoke was closer to my understanding of the question. http://grammarist.com/usage/evoke-invoke/ But on the whole I think PhilSweet's answer is a better one than mine. – Spagirl Apr 25 '17 at 14:42
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    Meta question: I would like to outline why I accepted this as an answer despite popular opinion; am I allowed to make a summary at the end of the original post or do I have to use a comment like this one? It may be difficult due to the character limit and lack of formatting. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 25 '17 at 15:04
  • @ValentinAslanyan I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that, and don't think ti is obvious from the help pages. It might be worth asking on the meta SE for this site? https://english.meta.stackexchange.com/ – Spagirl Apr 25 '17 at 15:13
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    @ValentinAslanyan I would simply state here in the comments why you think this is the best answer. Though note that you may be inviting disagreement. – Kyle Strand Apr 25 '17 at 18:29
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If you wish to signal that you are playing with the quotation, you could write:

"As Churchill might have said-"

or

"With apologies to Churchill-"

or even

"As Churchill never said-"

But signaling a joke tends to kill it. If you feel you can rely on the intelligence of your reader (almost always a good idea), say

"To paraphrase Churchill-"

As an over-literal commenter pointed out, this is not a completely correct use of "paraphrase", which is supposed to mean that you are preserving the original meaning but you are actually doing the opposite, keeping most of the words but repurposing the passage somewhat. In an overtly humorous context, though, that's perfectly acceptible. In fact, consider outright lying:

"In the words of Churchill-"

or

"To quote Churchill-"

Finally, just consider dropping the introduction completely. If you introduced a discussion of Alexander with "Nothing but blood, sweat, and spears", every educated person would recognize the bastardization involved.

Michael Lorton
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  • To quote Einstein: don't believe every quotation you see on the internet. – OrangeDog Apr 27 '17 at 16:59
  • I'm pretty well educated, but I don't associate the phrase "blood, sweat, and tears" with Churchill at all. I'm also American, and don't really associate any phrases with Churchill, although I'm aware he was a good speaker. – DCShannon Apr 27 '17 at 18:02
  • @DCShannon not even but in the morning i shall be sober? – Eric Wilson Apr 27 '17 at 19:00
  • @EricWilson That doesn't even ring a bell. I looked up some quotes: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/winston_churchill.html. I recognize "Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.", "Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.", and "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." But I wouldn't have known those were Churchill if you'd asked me. Additionally, it looks like he didn't even say "blood, sweat, and tears", but instead "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." – DCShannon Apr 27 '17 at 19:14
  • @DCShannon The Russia one is probably to most Churchhillian to the average American. But thought everyone had heard about his witty/mean/drunken one-liner. – Eric Wilson Apr 27 '17 at 20:40
  • @DCShannon -- you would do well to listen to recordings of Churchill's speeches. A titan of the 20th century. – Michael Lorton Apr 27 '17 at 21:28
  • I like all of this answer -- except for supporting paraphrase! (And I don't think I'm being over-literal...) – AAT May 01 '17 at 12:31
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Tweak

3. to make a minor adjustment to:

e.g. to tweak a computer program.

Can be used colloquially to represent taking any idea of someone else's, then changing it slightly to make it your own, as in this bit from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

brandondoge
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To parrot Churchill, we are about to see 'blood, sweat and spears.'

To echo Churchill, we are about to see 'blood, sweat and spears.'

I like these two options because they imply that we will say the same thing as Churchill, but at the same time, we all know that echoes and parrots (NSFW) do not always say exactly what we had said.

Community
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Teacher KSHuang
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  • The sense of both "parrot" and "echo" is that the agent repeating the sound is repeating it without understanding the meaning. A phrase that is parroted or echoed is exactly the same as the original, except perhaps in the intensity of the sound. The question asks for a word where the original phrase has been significantly altered. – Theresa Apr 29 '17 at 02:43
  • While true-ish on a certain level, I would say that Theresa's comment is taking the words a little too literally. – Teacher KSHuang May 01 '17 at 08:58
  • In any case, as evinced by the OP's own choice of "evoked," even the word that the OP ended up with doesn't mean an "original phrase [that] has been significantly altered." – Teacher KSHuang May 01 '17 at 09:01
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These would work, I believe. Revise, Recast, Restate

Or even "Rip Off" because the example is just a pun on a great, meaningful phrase for no good reason.

user8356
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Misrepresent (Cambridge)

To describe falsely an idea, opinion, or situation, often in order to get an advantage.

e.g. I've grown used to my views being misrepresented in the press.

This works well I would say. The advantage the person misrepresenting the quote is seeking would be either a meaning more suited to their own purpose, or self-attribution of the revised saying.

Gary
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    Though not reflected in the brief definition you have provided, in most full definitions of the word and certainly in common usage, misrepresentation has connotations of deliberate deceit or falseness. Though it may be appropriate in some cases, this is not the original intention. I have put in an edit to clarify the question. – Valentin Aslanyan Apr 24 '17 at 13:26
  • Yes, if you are changing words in an original quote, you are almost certainly deliberately falsifying the original quote. – Gary Apr 24 '17 at 13:27
  • Not if you tell people you've changed it! – Especially Lime Apr 27 '17 at 08:53
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"Channeling Churchill," might work, regardless of your belief in the supposed phenomenon. I also like butchering as a form of self-deprecation. However, I think it's best just to make your play on words and don't try to explain the reference.

Roger Dodger
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2

You may consider embellish:

embellish to make something more beautiful or interesting by adding something to it.

To embellish on Churchill ...

Mari-Lou A
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Y.S.
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2

If you are changing the phrase for humorous or rhetorical purposes, you may like to use "snowclone".

Henry Malinowski
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0

What about co-opt?

CO-OPT to use someone else's ideas: Rock and roll music was largely co-opted from the blues.

GWR
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-2

What's wrong with "misquote"?

To misquote Somerset Maugham, the ability to misquote is a serviceable substitute for wit.

Michael Kay
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