Paraprosdokian

Etymology

"Paraprosdokian" derives from Greek παρά "against" and προσδοκία "expectation". The noun prosdokia occurs with the preposition para in Greek rhetorical writers of the 1st century BCE and the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, with the meaning "contrary to expectation" or "unexpectedly."

While the word is now in wide circulation, "paraprosdokian" (or "paraprosdokia") is not a term of classical (or medieval) Greek or Latin rhetoric; it was first attested in 1896.

Double meaning

Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, as in garden-path sentence, but also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a form of syllepsis or antanaclasis (a type of pun).

For example, in response to the question "how are you two?", a Modern Hebrew speaker can say בסדר גמור; היא בסדר, אני גמור (), literally "in-order complete; she in-order, I complete", i.e., "We are very good. She is good, I am finished". Note the ambiguity of the Hebrew lexical item גמור : it means both "complete" and "finished". A parallel punning paraprosdokian in English is a man's response to a friend's question "Why are you and your wife here?: A workshop; I am working, she is shopping."

Examples

Add only quotes that have an attribution/author, and directly characterize the quote as an example of paraprosdokian. --

• "Take my wife—please!" —Henny Youngman
• "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
• "If all the girls attending the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn't be a bit surprised." —Dorothy Parker
• "On his feet he wore … blisters." —Aristotle
• "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it." —Groucho Marx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109061130/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb1397/is_3_17/ai_n45060415/ |archive-date=2011-01-09 |editor-last=Marsh |editor-first=Leslie |publication-date= 29 January 2020 |access-date=27 March 2020
• "My uncle's dying wish was to have me sit in his lap; he was in the electric chair." —Rodney Dangerfield
• "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
• "On the other hand, you have different fingers." —Steven Wright
• "To wives and sweethearts! May they never meet." — Traditional toast made by Royal Navy officers.
• "I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure." —Tommy Cooper

References

References

1. Ament, Ernest. (2004-12-22). "A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples". University of Kentucky, Wayne State University.
2. Ph.D, Rod L. Evans. (2012-06-05). "Tyrannosaurus Lex: The Marvelous Book of Palindromes, Anagrams, and Other Delightful and Outrageous Wordplay". Penguin.
3. (2014-05-18). "Paraprosdokian - Definition and Examples of Paraprosdokian".
4. Demetrius. "Demetrius On Style, The Greek text of Demetrius De Elocutione". [[BiblioBazaar]].
5. Hermogenes. (2005). "On Method of Forceful Speaking". [[Society of Biblical Literature]].
6. Tiberius (Rhetor.). (January 2010). "De Figuris". [[BiblioBazaar.
7. Philodemus. "On Choices and Avoidances". Bibliopolis.
8. Liddell-Scott-Jones. (1958). "A Greek-English Lexicon". Oxford.
9. Casselman, Bill. (2011-01-03). "The Bogus Word Paraprosdokian (and Lazy Con-Men of Academe)". Casselmania: McArthur & Co..
10. Zuckermann, Ghil'ad. (2020). "Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond". Oxford University Press.
11. (2012-02-09). "Paraprosdokians". Away With Words.
12. (15 June 2019). "It's a figure of speech {{!}} Off the Record".
13. (2019). "The Ultimate Christmas Cracker". John Murray Press.
14. (22 August 2019). "Happy Birthday, Dorothy Parker".
15. [[Rhetoric (Aristotle). ''Rhet.'']] 3.11.6 (1412a30-31).
16. (September 3, 2019). "What Do You Do With A Paraprosdokian?".
17. (28 March 2020). "Grammar Moses: It's not a pickup line, it's a paraprosdokian".
18. Zorn, Eric. (April 4, 2005). "Fine Lines: Mitch Hedberg". [[Chicago Tribune]].
19. Lundin, Leigh. (2011-01-30). "Paraprosdokia". Criminal Brief.
20. (August 17, 2016). "List of 20 Paraprosdokians: Sentences with a twist".
21. (22 June 2013). "'Our wives and sweethearts' Naval toast rewritten".
22. Juhasz, Andrea. (n.d.). "11 Paraprosdokians That Will Make You Think Twice".