anti-proverb

thumb|A fishing pun on the proverb "Good things come to those who wait." thumb|Graphic spoof on the proverbial concept of "big fish eat little fish", from Spanish context. (The text translates as "Don't panic, organize!")

An anti-proverb or a perverb is the transformation of a standard proverb for humorous effect. Paremiologist Wolfgang Mieder defines them as "parodied, twisted, or fractured proverbs that reveal humorous or satirical speech play with traditional proverbial wisdom". Anti-proverbs are ancient, Aristophanes having used one in his play Peace, substituting "bell" (in the unique compound "bellfinch") for "bitch, female dog", twisting the standard and familiar "The hasty bitch gives birth to blind" to "The hasty bellfinch gives birth to blind".