A pasquinade is a satire, usually done in writing and posted in public. A skit, poem, or cartoon can each be called a pasquinade — as long as its intent is to mock, lampoon, or make fun of something or someone.
Examples of modern pasquinades can be found on late night television political sketches. Today, you’re probably more likely to use a synonym for pasquinade, such as lampoon or satire. But neither of those words can say they got their name from Pasquino, a statue in Rome where people posted lampoons and satirical poems. A well-known literary pasquinade is Jonathan Swift’s “A Modern Proposal,” in which he suggested that the problem of Ireland’s famine could be solved by eating children.
