Their primary characteristic is that they are rooted in a culture and a language that can render them incomprehensible to an outsider—unless, they make him laugh for reasons entirely different from our own. Which is no less legitimate…
They arise from the clash of expressions or words, fracturing the homogeneity of the reality that surrounds us. Cousins of The part of the devil*, yet center on utterances that typically originate from established institutions, organizations, or official decrees. Most often, they are the product of chance or inattention. Unless they are deliberately sown by smug minor decision-makers ensconced in the dim recesses of some distant cubicle, unsung geniuses quietly cultivating gems in their taciturn bureaucratic routines. Yet they also emerge through a third way that blends registers to assert a spirit of mischievous good humor and understated mockery.
Are they the tackles of an order whose excesses remind its weaknesses to the individual who, through the wisdom of experience, knows it to be a necessary evil ? They become transfigured banality, bringing back the freshness of a knowing smile.
*Cf Portfolio The part of the devil.
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