paycheck sentence

In SEMANTICS, a SENTENCE containing a PRO-FORM which is not CO-REFERENTIAL with its ANTECEDENT, because the antecedent itself contains a pro-form. A typical example (from which the term derives) is illustrated by The man who gave his paycheck to his wife was wiser than the one who gave it to his mistress. Paycheck sentences provide the primary evidence for ‘lazy pronouns’.