ChemEngineer
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- Feb 5, 2019
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Paraprosdokians
A paraprosdokian (from Greek "παρα-", meaning "beyond" and
"προσδοκία", meaning "expectation") is a figure of speech in which
the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected
in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or
reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or
dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. For this
reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.
Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase,
but also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a syllepsis.
syl·lep·sis
/səˈlepsəs/
noun
a figure of speech in which a word is applied to two others in different senses (e.g., caught the train and a bad cold ) or to two others of which it grammatically suits only one (e.g., neither they nor it is working ).
A word to the wise is sufficient, ...but a book to a Democrat is hopelessly inadequate, useless, unappreciated, rejected.
"Republicans are anti-science," .... but we Democrats don't know whether we're male or female, or which bathroom to use, much less whether a baby with a beating heart and feelings is human.
A paraprosdokian (from Greek "παρα-", meaning "beyond" and
"προσδοκία", meaning "expectation") is a figure of speech in which
the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected
in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or
reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or
dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. For this
reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.
Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase,
but also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a syllepsis.
syl·lep·sis
/səˈlepsəs/
noun
a figure of speech in which a word is applied to two others in different senses (e.g., caught the train and a bad cold ) or to two others of which it grammatically suits only one (e.g., neither they nor it is working ).
A word to the wise is sufficient, ...but a book to a Democrat is hopelessly inadequate, useless, unappreciated, rejected.
"Republicans are anti-science," .... but we Democrats don't know whether we're male or female, or which bathroom to use, much less whether a baby with a beating heart and feelings is human.
