English Teacher's Treat: Paraprosdokian, Word of the Day

Paraprosdokian is today's Vocabulary Vitamin, selected to strengthen your English students' vocabulary muscles. Etta Mology (just call me Etta) tries to select uncommon words as Vocabulary Vitamins so you can continue to dazzle your classes. Paraprosdokian doesn't even sound like a real word, which is why your students will love it. Soon they'll begin making up their own paraprosdokians and you'll be nominated for English teacher of the day/year/or at least minute.

Paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which there is a surprise ending to a sentence (or sometimes two), an unexpected bon mot as one leaves the scene, a way to jar your gentle reader out of complacency with a last little twist that changes everything. Para, Greek for "beyond," and "prosdokian," Greek for "expectation," becomes paraprosdokian. Think of Groucho Marx who said "I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I don't know."

Sometimes paraprosdokians are about irony: How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire? Or as Winston Churchill said: "I'm just preparing my impromptu remarks." Other times they are just humorous: "I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car." Often, they take advantage of a word's double meaning: "Where there's a will, I want to be in it. "

A paraprosdokian, our Vocabulary Vitamin, occurs when the last part of the sentence or phrase says something quite different than the first part led you to expect. "Some people are like Slinkies, not really good for anything, but you always smile when one tumbles down the stairs." "The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on the list." Deliberate paraprosdokians sometimes use an ellipsis, the three dots that suggest a pause. Thus we have Count Dracula: " I never drink . . . wine." W. C. Fields, "Any man who hates children and animals . . . can't be all bad." The ellipsis is important, because in paraprosdokianism as in comedy, timing can be everything. In fact, paraprosdokians are the major artillery in a comedian's arsenal, always ready to send zingers and "gotchas" through the air with perfect aim. Homer Simpson, "If I could say a few words, I would be a better public speaker."

The paraprosdokian often arrives in sheep's clothing as a seemingly harmless fact that soon leaves with a foxy snarl. "Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak." "She gets her good looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon." Unpredictability, like variety, adds spice to the conversation and rhetoric of life. A favorite ploy of English teachers, professors, joke tellers, public speakers and authors who want to get our attention, the paraprosdokian keeps us guessing. It can inspire, stimulate and amuse us; and it has another sterling attribute: A paraprosdokian can be unforgettable (unlike the word itself!) Who said "I never drink . . . wine?" (Count Dracula, of course. Ms. Mology knew you would remember.)

More paraprosdokians when you click here.

Today's Vocabulary Vitamin, paraprosdokian, is not available in the general English dictionary and thesaurus. Try: Wikipedia and these sources:

http://socyberty.com/languages/in-pursuit-of-the-perfect-paraprosdokian/#ixzz12eVRIAb2
Henry J. Tillman Quotes."
"Will Rogers."
"Will Rogers on..."The Official Site of Will Rogers."
[3F20] "Much Apu About Nothing."The Simpson's Archive.