Paraprosdokian

Information about Paraprosdokian

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 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.

An especially clever paraprosdokian not only changes the meaning of an early phrase, but also plays on the double meaning of a particular word.

Examples:

Where there's a will, I want to be in it.
The car stopped on a dime, which unfortunately was in a pedestrian's pocket.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
"Stately swept he along, and under his feet were his chilblains." — Aristotle
"I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat." — Will Rogers
"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn't it." — Groucho Marx
"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." — Groucho Marx
"I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my father, not screaming and terrified like his passengers." — Bob Monkhouse
"A modest man, who has much to be modest about." — Winston Churchill (of Clement Atlee)
"If you are going through hell, keep going." — Winston Churchill
"I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long." — Mitch Hedberg
"Take my wife—please." — Henny Youngman
" It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." Winston Churchill
"You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else." Winston Churchill

A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetoric, or elocution, is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language. Figures of speech are often used and crafted for emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use.
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In rhetoric, climax is a figure of speech, in which words, phrases, or clauses are arranged in order of increasing importance. It is sometimes used with anadiplosis, which uses the repetition of a word or phrase in successive clauses.
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A double entendre is a figure of speech similar to the pun, in which a spoken phrase can be understood in either of two ways. This can be as simple as a phrase which has two mutually exclusive meanings, and is thus a clever play on words.
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Chilblains, also called perniosis or blain, when occurring on the feet, is a medical condition that is often confused with frostbite and trench foot. Chilblains are acral ulcers that occur when a predisposed individual is exposed to cold and humidity.
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Aristotle (Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.
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William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4 1879 – August 15 1935) was a Cherokee-American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, and actor.

Known as Oklahoma's favorite son,^[1]
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Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977), was an American comedian and film star. He is famed as a master of wit. He made 15 feature films with his siblings, the Marx Brothers as well as a successful solo career, most notably as the host of the radio
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Robert Allen Monkhouse OBE (June 1, 1928 – December 29, 2003) was a British entertainer in the traditional sense, though primarily known as a comedian and game show host.
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Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can). (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.
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Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC (3 January 1883 – 8 October 1967) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951. The Labour Party under Attlee won a landslide election victory over Winston Churchill immediately after Churchill had led
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Mitch Hedberg

Mitch Hedberg
Born January 24 1968
Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died March 29 2005 (aged 37)
Livingston, New Jersey
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Henry "Henny" Youngman (March 16, 1906 – February 24, 1998) was a British-born American comedian and violinist famous for "one-liners," short, simple jokes usually delivered rapid-fire. His best known (and oft misattributed) one-liner was "Take my wife—please".
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Garden path sentences are used in psycholinguistics to illustrate that human beings process language one word at a time. The name comes from the saying "to be led down the garden path" meaning "to be misled". An example is:

"The horse raced past the barn fell.

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Paraprosdokian

Information about Paraprosdokian

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