quote:

The most important thing in any discussion like this is the fact that most rhetorical terms aren't defined quite as precisely as one would want or expect. I've always been interested by them, and I remember in college going to a professor of mine, the chairman of the classics department, to ask about some subtle distinction between two terms, and he basically laughed and said that it was completely irrelevant.

That said, in _my_ understanding, _apophasis_ is actually saying something specific while denying that you are going talk about it (e.g. "I won't mention the fact that Representative Smith has been supporting three children from adulterous relationships"), while _paralipsis_ (in various spellings, or _pr(a)eteritio(n),_ which is the same thing with a totally different name_) is the implication of something more serious by deliberately concise treatment (e.g. "I don't have time to mention Representative Jones's other faults.")