Meaning of amphigory | Babel Free

Definitions

A nonsense verse; a rigmarole, which is meaningless despite possibly appearing to have meaning.

Equivalents

Examples

“There is always a danger that a poet, in search⟳ after the infinitely ingenious, may lapse into amphigory, into sheer absurdity and triviality, which Cowper, in spite of his elegant lightness, does not always escape⟳.”

“Greenberg answered with the same sort⟳ of polite amphigory the cosmic linguist had selected. “I have⟳ long wished for the boon of experiencing in person the scholarly aura of Dr. Ftaeml, but I had never dared let⟳ the wish⟳ blossom into hope⟳. Your servant and pupil, sir.””

“You will notice⟳ that the selection by Hiraf is either meaningless or ambiguous when analyzed, although it has an impressive ring⟳ at first reading. Nonsense statements such as these are known as amphigory and are characteristic of much occult metaphysics. Amphigory, of course, allows readers to project their own⟳ meaning into such statements, since there is little inherent meaning to begin⟳ with”

CEFR level