It’s just a figure of speech
It was the first time I heard of paraprosdokians and loved it so much, I had to share!
As a second language English speaker, I have to admit that I learn something new about the language every day.
Just the other day, while scrolling through Facebook, I came across something called paraprosdokians, and was immediately intrigued. According to Wikipedia, a paraprosdokian is a figure of speech by 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, and is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. Some paraprosdokians do not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but they also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a type of pun.
After reading the meaning of this phrase, I was intrigued and just had to search for some examples of this and to be honest, I was not disappointed! I had such a good chuckle that I decided to share some of these phrases with you, in the hope that it would also put a smile on your face.
So, here are a few paraprosdokians for you to enjoy:
– Where there’s a will, I want to be in it.
– If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.
– War does not determine who is right – only who is left.
– They begin the evening news with ‘Good Evening,’ then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.
– To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
– A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.
– You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
– Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
– You’re never too old to learn something stupid.
– To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
Until next week, stay safe and look out for each other …
Read more: Having fun while raising awareness
