PARAPROSDOKIANS
I’m in my 80s and today is the first time I’ve heard the word.
Wikipedia (See https://www.englishforums.com/content/h ... okians.htm ) defines it and lists 37 examples. “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 re-frame or re-interpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.”
I actually thought that this was the basis of all jokes and humour. But that aside, ------- I believe that a few of the 37 examples that were quoted in Wikipedia would be useful when responding to some posts in this forum ---
If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!
I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.
You're never too old to learn something stupid.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
Some people hear voices; some see invisible people. Others have no imagination whatsoever.