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One way of describing the characteristics of fixedness is to look at its theoretical opposite: the “defrosting” of lexical frozenness. Many researchers have pointed out the benefits of such a method (cf. Mejri, 2009,162). The “defrosting” also represents one of the inherent features of fixedness. It can thus indicate the existence of a frozen expression that was there (before any change took place), but also have its very own function. Many studies show that “defrosting” is often used in playful contexts, such as commercial settings (Grunig,1990) or in newspaper headlines (Sullet-Nylander,1998; Jaki, 2014). But what can be said about puns and word plays in oral conversations?

This study focuses on the translation of proper names in six epi- sodes of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The study shows that in most cases, in translations into French, the proper names are replaced, in a few examples by a generalisation (Neiman Marcus > ma boutique préférée), but mostly by an adaptation of some kind (with a cup of Bovril > dans mon lit). Despite omissions and adaptations that differ dramatically from the original version, the translation offers, in almost every example, an equivalent to the original that transfers the main idea to the French-speaking audi- ence. This is not to say that nothing is being lost in translation – in fact many things are being lost, such as certain qualities that pertain to the protagonists as well as associations to exact references.   The results show that proper names do get translated (contrary to the opinion of some researchers). Furthermore, some of them seem not only to refer to specific individuals, but to actually carry mean- ing, if only by association.