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. Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but also play on the double meaning,creating a syllepsis. (A kind of ellipsis in which one word (usually a verb) is understood differently in relation to two or more other words, which it modifies or governs. Adjective: sylleptic.)

Ø   I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

Ø   Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Ø   I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his airplane.

Ø   Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

Ø   Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Ø   If I agreed with you we’d both be wrong.

Ø   We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

Ø   War does not determine who is right, only who is left.

Ø   Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

Ø   The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Evening news is where they begin with “Good evening” and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.

Ø   To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.