Saying

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Saying" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Literature
Oral literature
Folklore fable fairy tale folk play folksong heroic epic legend myth proverb Oration Performance audiobook spoken word Saying
Major written forms
Drama closet drama Poetry lyric narrative Prose Nonsense verse Ergodic Electronic Long prose fiction Anthology Serial Novel/romance Short prose fiction Novella Novelette Short story Sketch Flash fiction Parable Religious Wisdom
Prose genres
Fiction Speculative Realist Children's Genre adventure coming-of-age crime erotic fantasy military paranormal romance science fiction supernatural Western horror Historical Encyclopedic Non-fiction Academic history philosophy Anecdote Epistle Essay Journalism Letter Life Nature Persuasive Travelogue
Poetry genres
Narrative Epic Dramatic Verse novel National Lyric Ballad Elegy Epigram Ghazal Haiku Hymn Limerick Ode Qasida Sonnet Villanelle Lists Epic Groups and movements Poets
Dramatic genres
Comedy Libretto Play historical moral Satire Script Tragedy Tragicomedy
History
Ancient Classical Medieval Modernist Postmodern
Lists and outlines
Outline Glossary Books Writers Movements Cycles Literary awards poetry
Theory and criticism
Sociology Magazines Composition Language Narrative Feud
Literature portal
v t e

A saying is any concise

• Aphorism: a general, observational truth; "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth".^[1]
  • saw: a widely known or popular aphorism that has gained credibility by long use or tradition
    .
  • Apothegm/Apophthegm: "an edgy, more cynical aphorism; such as, 'Men are generally more careful of the breed of their horses and dogs than of their children.'"^[2]
• Axiom: a proposition that commends itself to general acceptance; a well-established or universally conceded principle; a maxim, rule, or law.^[3]
• Cliché or bromide: an unoriginal and overused saying.
  • Platitude: a cliché that is unsuccessfully presented as though it were meaningful, original, or effective.
• poetic
  written saying that comments on a specific person, idea, or thing; it especially denominates such a saying that is conspicuously put at the beginning of a text.
• Epitaph: a saying in honor of a decedent, often engraved on a headstone or plaque.
• Epithet: a descriptive word or saying already widely associated with a specific person, idea, or thing.
• idiomatic phrase or, phraseme: a saying that has only a non-literal interpretation; "an expression whose meaning can't be derived simply by hearing it, such as 'kick the bucket.'"^[2]
  • Four-character idiom:
    • Chengyu: Chinese four-character idioms
    • Sajaseong-eo: Korean form of four-character idioms
    • Yojijukugo: Japanese form of four-character idioms
• Mantra: a religious, mystical, or other spiritual saying that is repeated, for example, in meditation.
• Maxim: (1) an instructional expression of a general principle or rule of morality or (2) simply a synonym for "aphorism"; they include:
  • Brocard
  • Gnome
  • Legal maxim
• Motto: a saying used frequently by a person or group to summarize its general mission.
  • Credo: a motto implicitly or explicitly extended to express a larger belief system.
  • Slogan: a motto with the goal of persuading.
• Quip: a clever or humorous saying based on an observation.
• Witticism
  : a saying that is clever and usually humorous and that is notable for its form or style just as much as, or more than, its meaning.

References

External links

Look up saying in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Media related to Sayings at Wikimedia Commons