Monday, 26 September 2011

Paraprosdokia

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  reinterpret the first part.

First a few interesting observations about life:
  • Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.
  • The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!
  • If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
  • Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
  • I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
Of course God features in some of these:
  • I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
  • Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
  • A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
And then a few lessons to the wise:
  • The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
  • When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.
  • You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
  • The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the  list.

Related post:  The Four Jokes   (see item 1)

1 comment:

Fil Salustri said...

My personal favorite:
Time flies like an arrow.
Fruit flies like a banana.