A new branch of linguistics?

I read a blog called Language Log -- elements of linguistics are essential to some of my academic research, so I'm interested. They recently did a post on some lesser-known linguistic terms, such as "amphiboly," which essentially means an ambiguous phrase. For example, Groucho Marx, "My uncle once shot an elephant in his pajamas. How the elephant got into his pajamas I'll never know."

Anyway, I am surprised that there has never been a formal study of Yogiisms. These are statements that are literally tautological, self-contradictory, or otherwise nonsensical, but which the human mind can nevertheless parse as meaningful. The most famous of course: "It ain't over till it's over." That translates roughly as "Don't give up while there's still hope," but how do we know that?

 

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." It took Robert Frost 144 words to say the same thing. 

Can you propose translations for some others?

Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded.

Prediction is hard, especially about the future.

You can observe a lot by just watching.

We wanted to get as far away from baseball as possible, so we went to the hall of fame.

I never said half the things I said.

The question is whether there has only been one human being in history capable of generating statements of this nature (and even posing that question first requires a formal definition), and where else they may be found.