gilbertianism means the ludicrously comic style of the dramatist and librettist W. S. Gilbert. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 92 out of 100.
Why “gilbertianism” is a great word
GILBERTIANISM — [Noun] A comic style defined by systematic, light-hearted upending of logic and social conventions through satirical inversion, as perfected by the dramatist W. S. Gilbert. From the proper name Gilbert (referring to W. S. Gilbert) + the suffix -ian (forming adjectives meaning 'pertaining to') + the suffix -ism (forming nouns denoting a distinctive style or system). Unlike farce (which trades in broad, physical chaos) or whimsy (which suggests gentle, aimless fancy), Gilbertianism is an intellectual architecture of the absurd. It is a policeman falling in love with the plaintiff he is prosecuting, a House of Lords composed of tradesmen elevated by pills, and a pirate lord lamenting his orphaned nobility—a clockwork universe of impeccable logic gone gleefully awry, offering the peculiar comfort that absurdity, when ordered properly, makes its own kind of sense.
Etymology
From Gilbertian + -ism.
noun
- The ludicrously comic style of the dramatist and librettist W. S. Gilbert.