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Paraprosdokian

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A figure in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising and causes the reader to reinterpret the first part.

Detailed Definition
Paraprosdokian is a rhetorical and poetic device in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase unexpectedly subverts the reader’s expectation established by the first part, creating surprise, irony, or humor; in poetry, this twist often serves to reframe meaning, challenge assumptions, or deliver a punchline, as in Dorothy Parker’s quip “I hate writing, but I love having written,” where the second clause radically reinterprets the first.
Example
Example in poetry:
“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening—but this wasn’t it,” quipped Groucho Marx; Dorothy Parker: “Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves”; Paraprosdokian in e.e. cummings: “nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands”; Modern example: Warsan Shire—“You can’t make homes out of human beings. Someone should have told me.”
Additional Notes
Unexpected twist at sentence end subverting expectation. Creates surprise through sudden reversal. Common in epigrams and wit poetry; study with volta and reversal techniques.
Other Meanings of “Paraprosdokian”
Also Known As
Surprise ending Unexpected conclusion Twisted expectation Misdirection figure
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