The authoress analyses the usage of pragmatically conventionalized phrases (phrasal expressions, proverbs, sayings, clichés) in aphoristic texts. Contextual, contextual-structural and systemic innovations are characterized in here. Three-move reading of an aphorism is advised: identification of the linguistic paradox, defining the way the identified element functions in the aphoristic text and finding the way to express ideological paradox by means of linguistic paradox.