Paraprosdokian

A paraprosdokian (from Greek "παρα-", meaning "beyond" and "προσδοκία", 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 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.

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.

Examples

• "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." — Henry J. Tillman
• "I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat." — Will Rogers
• "She got her good looks from her father, he's a plastic surgeon." — Groucho Marx
• "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it." — Groucho Marx
• "One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I'll never know." — Groucho Marx
• "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." — Groucho Marx
• "I want to die like my father, quietly, in his sleep—not screaming and terrified like his passengers." — Bob Monkhouse
• "I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too." — Mitch Hedberg
• "I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long." — Mitch Hedberg
• "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
• "When I was 10 I beat up the school bully. His arms were in casts. That's what gave me the courage." — Emo Philips
• "If I could say a few words, I would be a better public speaker." — Homer Simpson
• "If I am reading this graph correctly, I would be very surprised." — Stephen Colbert
• "Mark my words. No, Mark, I really need my words." — Stephen Colbert
• "If all the girls at Vassar were laid end to end, I wouldn't be surprised." — Dorothy Parker
• "I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out." — Bill Hicks
• "It's too bad that whole families have to be torn apart by something as simple as wild dogs." — Jack Handey
• "Don't buy drugs. Become famous and people with give them to you for free." - from Love Actually

See also

• Garden path sentence
• List of linguistic example sentences