Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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A "paraprosdokian" 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.
John Fox: You're Never Too Old to Learn Something Stupid John Fox 2011
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A "paraprosdokian" 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.
John Fox: You're Never Too Old to Learn Something Stupid John Fox 2011
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[_A "paraprosdokian," which delights him to the point of repetition.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 101, August 8, 1891 Various
xntrek commented on the word paraprosdokian
(n.) A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected causing one to reframe or reinterpret the first part.
An especially clever paraprosdokian not only changes the meaning of an early phrase, but also plays on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a syllepsis.
(etymology) from Greek "πα�?α-", meaning "beyond" and "π�?οσδοκία", meaning "expectation"
(examples)
"I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat." — Will Rogers
"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it." — Groucho Marx
"I want to die like my father, quietly, in his sleep—not screaming and terrified like his passengers." — Bob Monkhouse
"I like going to the park and watching the children run and jump around, because you see, they don't know I'm using blanks." — Emo Philips
May 21, 2009
kirinqueen commented on the word paraprosdokian
A garden path sentence that messes with expected word senses (semantics) instead of syntactic relations. One of my favorites: "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."
June 11, 2010