Paraprosdokian
the term for a figure of speech in which a sentence or phrase has an unexpected or surprising ending. often used for humourous effect, and thus heavily used by comedians.
examples:
“where there’s a will, i want to be in it.”
“if i am reading this graph correctly – i would be very surprised.” — stephen colbert
“if you are going through h-ll, keep going.” — winston churchill
“i sleep 8 hours a day. and at least 10 at night.” — bill hicks
‘the car stopped on a dime, which unfortunately was in a pedestrian’s pocket,’ said one.
‘a witty paraprosdokian there, my good fellow,’ said the other.
a paraprosdokian 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 . . . sometimes a very funny turn of phrase.
so what’s a “paraprosdokian”?
“like this: i asked g-d for a bike, but i know g-d doesn’t work that way. so i stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.”
“i don’t get it”-
“okay, how about: do not argue with an idiot. he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.”
“you mean, something like: i want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. not screaming and yelling like the p-ssengers in his car.”
“phrasemaker!”
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