Keyword: «social irony»

This article examines the functioning of human nominations in M.M. Zhvanetsky's satirical texts. Using the lexemes "politician," "official," and "oligarch" and the phraseological unit "brothers in mind," it analyzes the discrepancy between dictionary (invariant) meaning and contextual (variable) meaning. It is demonstrated that in Zhvanetsky's work, neutral or terminological vocabulary undergoes semantic deformation, acquiring pejorative connotations and becoming a tool of social criticism. Particular attention is paid to the technique of semantic syncretism and the "breaking" of idioms, which allows the author to capture the absurdities and contradictions of Soviet and post-Soviet reality. The study confirms the thesis that the full meaning of a word is revealed not in a dictionary, but in the text as a dynamic system.