Friday, December 7, 2007

Paraprosdokian

A paraprosdokian (from Greek "para-", meaning "faulty" and "prosdokia", meaning "expectation") 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 the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax.

e.g. The car stopped on a dime, which unfortunately was in a pedestrian's pocket.

source on wikipedia

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talk nineteen to the dozen

  to speak rapidly and without stopping