Syllepsis
Categories: Rhetoric | Figures of speech
Syllepsis is a figure of speech in which one word simultaneously modifies two or more other words such that the modification must be understood differently with respect to each modified word. This creates a semantic incongruity which is often humorous.
Syllepsis is somewhat related to the figure zeugma, but in the latter the modifier does not logically fit one of the words it modifies.
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Examples
- He leaned heavily on the lectern and stale jokes.
- He lost his hat and his temper.
- She went home in a flood of tears and a sedan chair. —Charles Dickens
- He said, as he hastened to put out the cat, the wine, his cigar and the lamps... —Flanders and Swann, "Madeira M'Dear"
- She lowered her standards by raising her glass, her courage, her eyes and his hopes. — Flanders and Swann, "Madeira, M'dear"
- She made no reply, up her mind, and a dash for the door. — Flanders and Swann, "Madeira, M'dear"
- You held your breath and the door for me. —Alanis Morissette, in "Head Over Feet":
- ... and covered themselves with dust and glory. —Mark Twain, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
- You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff. —Groucho Marx
- You want your belt to buckle, not your chair.
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