You know how sometimes you need an adjectival form of a word, but you can't think of it? It happens like this:

You love Weird Al's music. Weird Al makes delightful parodies. His music is delightfully... parodying? Parodish? Parody-like? Parodisiacal? You hate all these, and you know they're wrong.

Don't worry, I got you. It's parodic. His music is delightfully parodic. Or, parodically delightful. And now we know that, and that's awesome.

It's definitely a weird-looking adjective. To help me remember its pronunciation ("puh ROD ick"), I'm filing it away in my head next to some words that rhyme with it: robotic, exotic, hypnotic, and chaotic.

Ooh, and rhapsodic. In fact, not only do rhapsodic and parodic rhyme; they also share a root: the Greek ōidē, meaning "an ode, or a song." A rhapsody is literally a "woven song," and a parody is literally a "parallel song." (Can you recall what it means to rhapsodize? Yes, etymologically it means to "weave a song," but what it does it mean in contemporary use?) 

Let's unpack parodies a bit more. We see that they're literally "parallel songs," and slightly less literally "mocking songs." That word parody has a familiar prefix, "para-," which often means "beside, or parallel to," or sometimes "contrary to." So, parody is related to words like paragraph, paraphrase, parad__ ("a statement that seems to contradict itself") and paroch___ ("limited and narrow-minded; from a Greek word for 'neighbor' that literally means 'beside-house'"). Can you recall those last two words?

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

The word "parody" has Greek bits that literally mean "a parallel song, or a mocking song." We've used this word in English since about the year 1607.

It originally meant "a poem that copies and mocks some particular poet," but the meaning has expanded, and these days a parody is any creation that pokes fun at someone else's work by imitating it.

So, something parodic involves poking fun at someone else's work by imitating it.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls is a parodic play;" "The play is parodic, riffing on The Glass Menagerie."

Other forms: 

Parody, parodies;
parodically;
parodist(s).

"Parody" is also a verb, the transitive kind: "The show parodies everyone from celebrities to politicians." There's also an uglier, rarer verb, "parodize," the other forms being "parodized" and "parodizing." I suggest sticking with the plain, common verb "parody:" "For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls parodies The Glass Menagerie."

how to use it:

Although the word "parody" is pretty common, often used as a noun and a verb, the adjective "parodic" is rare. So, pick it when you want to surprise and delight your reader. Or when you just want to be descriptive, pointing out that some creation is parodic in nature.

You might write about parodic creations, like parodic comments, articles, songs, poems, books, scenes, skits, characters, and films.

Or, write about parodic humor, creativity, energy, habits, careers, etc.

examples:

"New parodic energies are awakened, the impulse never dies; even as I speak, some sprightly scribe in study or bed-site is taking a poke at Pinter."
   — Walter Nash, An Uncommon Tongue: The Uses and Resources of English, 1992

"The projectionist, in the silence that followed, remarked... 'And what makes you think that the emphasis you have put on it is the correct emphasis?' The word correct had an echoing parodic twang. It was a jeer at the Marxist jargon-word correct. It also had a primness, like that of a schoolteacher."
   — Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook, 1962

has this page helped you understand "parodic"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "parodic" without saying "spoofing" or "satirizing."

try it out:

If you've seen any of the parodic movies below, describe which one you enjoyed the most.

1. Spaceballs, a parody of Star Wars movies 
2.Austin Powers, a parody of James Bond movies 
3.Tropic Thunder, a parody of war movies 
4.This is Spinal Tap, a parody of music documentaries 
5.Enchanted, a self-parody of other Disney movies 

Or: in your opinion, what are some good ways (and/or some bad ways) to create parodic humor? Is it even a good idea to create a full-length parodic film? Why or why not?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is Make Your Point Before & After!

I’ll give you a clue, and you give me a verbal mashup including at least one word or phrase we've studied before.

For example, if I give you "It's someone who meets you at the library to join you in a state of deep, serious, often gloomy thoughtfulness," then you give me "brown study buddy." It's a mashup of "brown study" and "study buddy."

Try this one today: If you're a full-time YouTuber, it's how you earn a living, entertain the masses, and stay too busy to rise up against your YouTube oppressors.

To reveal the first two hints, highlight the hidden white text.

Hint 1: The number of words in this Before & After is... four.

Hint 2: The first word in this Before & After is... "daily."

Hint 3: Use this term.

To see the answer, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. Opposites of PARODIC could be

A. ORIGINAL and EARNEST.
B. THOUGHTFUL and INSIGHTFUL.
C. INDIVIDUAL and SELF-DETERMINING.

2. Perhaps we enjoy parodic humor so much partly for _____.

A. the joy of recognition: the thrill of "getting it," of recognizing the reference material
B. the shock value: the thrill of laughing at something that's not even socially acceptable
C. the universality: the language-free, culture-free invitation for anyone, anywhere to laugh

Answers to the review questions: 1. A 2. A Answer to the game question: Daily bread and circuses.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.