{"id":209,"date":"2011-10-03T22:22:24","date_gmt":"2011-10-03T21:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/injury-prevention\/?p=209"},"modified":"2011-10-03T22:22:24","modified_gmt":"2011-10-03T21:22:24","slug":"a-new-word-paraprosdokian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/injury-prevention\/2011\/10\/03\/a-new-word-paraprosdokian\/","title":{"rendered":"A new word: Paraprosdokian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ian Scott introduced me to a new word \u201cparaprosdokian\u2019 — \u00a0“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.\u201d\u00a0 Wikipedia adds: \u201cIt is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax<\/a>. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.\u00a0 The following examples offer some humor and illustrate clever writing.<\/p>\n

I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.<\/p>\n

Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.<\/p>\n

The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it’s still on the list.<\/p>\n

If I agreed with you, we’d both be wrong.<\/p>\n

War does not determine who is right – only who is left.<\/p>\n

A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a workstation.<\/p>\n

Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of a pool and throw them fish.<\/p>\n

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but always check when you say the paint is wet?<\/p>\n

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.<\/p>\n

Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.<\/p>\n

I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not sure.<\/p>\n

When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.<\/p>\n

You’re never too old to learn something stupid.<\/p>\n

And from Wikipedia, these more famous examples:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u25aa He was at his best when the going was good.” \u2014Alistair Cooke<\/a> on the Duke of Windsor<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25aa \u00a0“There but for the grace of God<\/a> \u2014 goes God.” \u2014Winston Churchill<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25aa \u00a0“If I am reading this graph correctly \u2014 I’d be very surprised.” \u2014Stephen Colbert<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25aa \u00a0“You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing\u2014after they have tried everything else.” \u2014Winston Churchill<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25aa \u00a0“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.” \u2014Groucho Marx<\/a><\/p>\n

\u25aa \u00a0“A modest man, who has much to be modest about.” \u2014 supposedly Winston Churchill<\/a>, about Clement Attlee<\/a><\/p>\n

“If I could just say a few words… I’d be a better public speaker.” \u2014Homer Simpson<\/a><\/p>\n

There are other lovely quotes on Wikipedia \u00a0illustrating this construction. Enjoy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ian Scott introduced me to a new word \u201cparaprosdokian\u2019 — \u00a0“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.\u201d\u00a0 Wikipedia adds: \u201cIt is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1574,2574],"tags":[2200],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-offbeat","category-journal-writing","tag-writing-tips"],"yoast_head":"\nA new word: Paraprosdokian - Injury Prevention: Editor's Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/injury-prevention\/2011\/10\/03\/a-new-word-paraprosdokian\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A new word: Paraprosdokian - Injury Prevention: Editor's Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ian Scott introduced me to a new word \u201cparaprosdokian\u2019 — \u00a0“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.\u201d\u00a0 Wikipedia adds: \u201cIt is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/injury-prevention\/2011\/10\/03\/a-new-word-paraprosdokian\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Injury Prevention: Editor's Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-10-03T21:22:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/injury-prevention\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/03\\\/a-new-word-paraprosdokian\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/injury-prevention\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/03\\\/a-new-word-paraprosdokian\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"A new word: Paraprosdokian\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-10-03T21:22:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/injury-prevention\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/03\\\/a-new-word-paraprosdokian\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":424,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/injury-prevention\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"writing tips\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Offbeat\",\"Writing for Publication\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/injury-prevention\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/03\\\/a-new-word-paraprosdokian\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/injury-prevention\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/03\\\/a-new-word-paraprosdokian\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/injury-prevention\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/03\\\/a-new-word-paraprosdokian\\\/\",\"name\":\"A new word: Paraprosdokian - 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