Does anybody know if there is a word for the rhetorical structure where the first half of one phrase is joined to the second half o a different one to, perhaps, give a comic effect.
Eg
You can't have your cake and lie in it.
Too many cooks gather no moss.
A rolling stone is worth two in the bush.This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale,
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
A paraprosdokian (/pærəprɒsˈdoʊkiən/) is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence, phrase, or larger discourse 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.[1] Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but they also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a form of syllepsis.
Examples
"There but for the grace of God—goes God." —Winston Churchill
"If I could just say a few words… I'd be a better public speaker." —Homer Simpson
"If I am reading this graph correctly—I'd be very surprised." —Stephen Colbert
"On his feet he wore…blisters." —Aristotle
"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it." —Groucho Marx
"A modest man, who has much to be modest about." —supposedly Winston Churchill, about Clement Attlee
"I like going to the park and watching the children run around because they don't know I'm using blanks." —Emo Philips
"I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long." —Mitch Hedberg
"I sleep eight hours a day and at least ten at night." —Bill Hicks
"I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat." —Will Rogers
"On the other hand, you have different fingers." —Steven Wright
"He was at his best when the going was good." —Alistair Cooke on the Duke of Windsor
tinman, where have you been? "Syllepsis" - wow, nice word, cool concept.
Tinman won't you just step over to wordplay & cast a vote on the Topeka poll [limerick game] pretty pls w/sugar on top?
BobHale, love this idea, it would be a great addition to word games. We could include perverbs & tinman's paraprosdokians. Perverbs: even tho this thread provides many, seems like the proverb halves could be shuffled for more results. Ppdokians look to be difficult. I'm thinking they comprise much of Steven Wright's humor.
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The anti-proverbs and perverbs seem to be used with proverbs, while the paraprosdokians seem to be used with quotes. Either way, I think it would be a fun game, Bethree!
A similar concept is known to comedians as "bait and switch". An example is: while doing a bit about football Robin Williams described quarterbacks as "men with big hands and big feet, and you ladies know what that means. Yes... big gloves and big shoes."
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
is there a term for the substitution of a common phrase by a more convoluted paraphrase?
It was brought to mind when shu posted on Facebook a quote about the New York Times.
quote:
Does the New York Times have a liberal bias? Most readers of this column would answer the question with a rhetorical one about ursine digestive functions or the religious affiliation of the pope.
I need offer no more examples.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
I know, but you could say something like, "Those words are too sesquipedalian to be understood by all. How about...? I mean, you don't have to have a word for every little thought, do you?
