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Vlivef Posted 7 years ago
Vocabulary

Mockery/travesty/parody/caricature of justice (1)

Hi there,

1) Could somebody please comment on differences (if any) among 'mockery/travesty/parody/caricature' in this specific context (1)? Based on my googling, all four variants are "equally common" in modern English, aren' they? Anyway, if there are some subtle nuances (that only native speakers can "feel"), would you please point them out?

2) Now, to my second question. Do I understand correctly that "laughing stock" can only be applied to people, not abstract nouns such as "justice", "equality", "liberty", etc.

Ex: "He has always been a laughing stock for his poor pronunciation" (2)

Could you please also tell me what alternatives to "laughing stock" (in context like(2)) exist?

Hope my second q-n makes sense to you...

  

Top answer

It is better to post two unrelated questions like this in two separate threads. 1) What context do you mean? The dictionaries will tell you as much as anyone can without context.

— Anonymous

  • It is better to post two unrelated questions like this in two separate threads.
  • 1) What context do you mean?
  • The dictionaries will tell you as much as anyone can without context.
  • 2) A person or something considered as one, such as a country or corporation, or even a model of car, can be a laughingstock (spelled thus, at least in the USA).
  • Abstract concepts cannot.
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4 Answers
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It is better to post two unrelated questions like this in two separate threads.

1) What context do you mean? The dictionaries will tell you as much as anyone can without context.

2) A person or something considered as one, such as a country or corporation, or even a model of car, can be a laughingstock (spelled thus, at least in the USA). Abstract concepts cannot. You can be the **

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vlivefmockery/travesty/parody/caricature

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1. The following would probably be the most frequently heard examples of the usage of each of these (there is no sense in knowing every possible usage if it's never going to be heard in real life):


He made a mockery of the system/procedures.


This play/performance is a travesty.


This is supposed to be a parody of ______ (name of a person or work of art goes in

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Ex: "He has always been a laughing stock for his poor pronunciation" (2)

»He has always been mocked for his poor pronunciation.

In your list, "travesty" is the only word that conveys seriousness about something regrettable.

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