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Grok (/ ˈ ɡ r ɒ k /) is a neologism coined by the American writer Robert A. Heinlein for his 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land.While the Oxford English Dictionary summarizes the meaning of grok as "to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with" and "to empathize or communicate sympathetically (with); also, to experience enjoyment", [1] Heinlein's ...
The term neologism has a broader meaning which also includes "a word which has gained a new meaning". [12] [13] [14] Sometimes, the latter process is called semantic shifting, [12] or semantic extension. [15] [16] Neologisms are distinct from a person's idiolect, one's unique patterns of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
Julia Kristeva coined the term "intertextuality" (intertextualité) [13] in an attempt to synthesize Ferdinand de Saussure's semiotics: his study of how signs derive their meaning from the structure of a text (Bakhtin's dialogism); his theory suggests a continual dialogue with other works of literature and other authors; and his examination of ...
The use of a MacGuffin as a plot device predates the name MacGuffin. The Holy Grail of Arthurian legend has been cited as an early example of a MacGuffin. The Holy Grail is the desired object that is essential to initiate and advance the plot, but the final disposition of the Grail is never revealed, suggesting that the object is not of significance in itself. [8]
Also apophthegm. A terse, pithy saying, akin to a proverb, maxim, or aphorism. aposiopesis A rhetorical device in which speech is broken off abruptly and the sentence is left unfinished. apostrophe A figure of speech in which a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience (e.g., in a play) and directs speech to a third party such as an opposing litigant or some other individual, sometimes ...
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a philosopher and poet known for his influence on English literature, coined the turn-of-phrase and elaborated upon it.. Suspension of disbelief is the avoidance—often described as willing—of critical thinking and logic in understanding something that is unreal or impossible in reality, such as something in a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for ...
An example in literature is the character of Touchstone in Shakespeare's As You Like It, described as "a wise fool who acts as a kind of guide or point of reference throughout the play, putting everyone, including himself, to the comic test". [3] Dante's "In la sua volontade è nostra pace" ("In his will is our peace"; Paradiso, III.85) [4]
Rudy Ray Moore, known as "Dolemite", is well known for having used the term in his comedic performances.While signifyin(g) is the term coined by Henry Louis Gates Jr. to represent a black vernacular, the idea stems from the thoughts of Ferdinand De Saussure and the process of signifying—"the association between words and the ideas they indicate."