Экзамен по стилистике Stylistics as a science and style as a main stylistic category

Pun has been called as "a witty enquiry into the language", "a literary riot", "a mixture of erudition and fun","a feast of ingenuity and wit", "a provocative play on words"
Puns are often used in riddles and jokes (A riddle or pun makes learning words fun), ex.: What is the difference between a schoolmaster and an engine-driver? (One trains the mind and the other minds the train.) Devices of simultaneously realizing the various meanings of words, which are of a more subtle character than those embodied in puns and zeugma, are to be found in poetry and poetical descriptions and in speculations in emotive prose.
E.g.: A woman had three sons who emigrated from Ireland to the USA. They prospered and soon became the owners of a large cattle ranch. They weren't, however, sure what to call it, so they wrote back to their mother for advice. She sent a one-word reply on a postcard: Focus. Puzzled, they wrote back for an explanation. Her response was: "It's where the sons raise meat". [sun's rays meet] (As a trivial aside, this pun seems to have inspired a number of real Focus Ranches)


Stylistic potential of phraseological units. Allusion
The vocabulary of a language is enriched not only by words but also by word combinations which are differently called. Some of them refer to free word combinations, the others are called set expressions and the term phraseological units is often used for them. Phraseological units, including proverbs, sayings, clichés, quotations as well as various kinds of allusions may be used for stylistic purpose.
Phraseology has attracted rapidly increasing interest from a wide range of language related disciplines, which has yet to coalesce into an agreed set of terms and frameworks. [see Cowie A.P.] This approach is regarded as necessary in studies focusing on stylistic features of phraseology, which inevitably require close analysis of the production of individual speakers and writers rather than the processing of large corpora en masse.
A phraseological unit is a stable, cohesive combination of words with a fully or partially figurative meaning.