A paraprosdokian (from Greek,
meaning "beyond" and "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.
Some
paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but also play
on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a syllepsis.
Think twice before you speak. You
may be able to say something even more insulting. - Unknown
This is not a
novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force. - Dorothy Parker
Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others. - Groucho Marx
Three failures
denote uncommon strength. A weakling has not enough grit to fail thrice. - Minna Antrim
To err is human,
to blame the next guy even more so. - Unknown
To lose one parent may be regarded
as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. - Oscar Wilde
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research. - Unknown
To the man on crutches, dressed in camouflage, who stole my wallet ...
you can hide but you can’t run. - Milton
Jones
Vegetarians, if you love animals so much then why do you keep eating all
their food? - Unknown
War does not determine who is right - only who is left. - Unknown
We must
believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't
like? - Jean Cocteau
We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public. - Unknown
We sleep in separate rooms, we
have dinner apart, we take separate vacations - we’re doing everything we can
to keep our marriage together. - Rodney
Dangerfield
We would all like a reputation for generosity and we’d all like to buy it cheap. - Mignon Mclaughlin
When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. - Unknown
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