Parody, "a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule,"[cit] is also a key tactic of postmodernism "because it foregrounds quotation and self-referentiality."[cit]

In semiotics—the study of how signification works—an indexical sign is a "mode in which the signifier is not arbitrary but is directly connected in some way (physically or causally) to the signified&mdashthis link can be observed or inferred: e.g. 'natural signs' (smoke, thunder, footprints, echoes, non-synthetic odors and flavors), medical symptoms (pain, a rash, pulse-rate), measuring instruments (weathercock, thermometer, clock, spirit-level), 'signals' (a knock on a door, a phone ringing), pointers (a pointing 'index' finger, a directional signpost), recordings (a photograph, a film, video or television shot, an audio-recorded voice), personal 'trademarks' (handwriting, catchphrase) and indexical words ('that,' 'this,' 'here,' 'there.')"[cit]