science

Paraprosdokian

Paraprosdokian is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Paraprosdokian rather than just read about it. In short: A paraprosdokian (), or par'hyponoian, is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence, phrase, or larger discourse 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.

Key takeaways

Paraprosdokian belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Paraprosdokian to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Paraprosdokian from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A paraprosdokian (), or par'hyponoian, is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence, phrase, or larger discourse 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. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists, such as Groucho Marx.

Etymology "Paraprosdokian" derives from Greek παρά "against" and προσδοκία "expectation". The noun prosdokia occurs with the preposition para in Greek rhetorical writers of the 1st century BCE and the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, with the meaning "contrary to expectation" or "unexpectedly." While the word is now in wide circulation, "paraprosdokian" (or "paraprosdokia") is not a term of classical (or medieval) Greek or Latin rhetoric; it was first attested in 1896.

Double meaning Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, as in garden-path sentence, but also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a form of syllepsis or antanaclasis (a type of pun). For example, in response to the question "how are you two?", a Modern Hebrew speaker can say בסדר גמור; היא בסדר, אני גמור (be-séder gamúr; hi be-séder, aní gamúr), literally "in-order complete; she in-order, I complete", i.e., "We are very good. She is good, I am finished". Note the ambiguity of the Hebrew lexical item גמור gamúr: it means both "complete" and "finished". A parallel punning paraprosdokian in English is a man's response to a friend's question "Why are you and your wife here?: A workshop; I am working, she is shopping."

Examples "If I could just say a few words … I'd be a better public speaker." —Homer Simpson "If I am reading this graph correctly—I'd be very surprised." —Stephen Colbert "If all the girls attending the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn't be a bit surprised." —Dorothy Parker "On his feet he wore … blisters." —Aristotle "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it." —Groucho Marx "My uncle's dying wish was to have me sit in his lap; he was in the electric chair." —Rodney Dangerfield "I like going to the park and watching the children run around because they don't know I'm using blanks." —Emo Philips "I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long." —Mitch Hedberg "I sleep eight hours a day and at least ten at night." —Bill Hicks "On the other hand, you have different fingers." —Steven Wright "To wives and sweethearts! May they never meet." — Traditional toast made by Royal Navy officers. "I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure." —Tommy Cooper "Take my wife—please!" —Henny Youngman

See also Anti-proverb List of linguistic example sentences One-line joke Garden-path sentence

References

External links

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paraprosdokian

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paraprosdokian claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Paraprosdokian before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Paraprosdokian ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Paraprosdokian

In research: Paraprosdokian appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Paraprosdokian in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Paraprosdokian is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Figures of speech, Jokes, Rhetoric, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paraprosdokian outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Paraprosdokian in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Paraprosdokian means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Paraprosdokian out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paraprosdokian in simple terms?

Why does Paraprosdokian matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Paraprosdokian?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Paraprosdokian.