Meaning of paraprosdokian | Babel Free

Definitions

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 or reinterpret the first part.

Equivalents

Examples

“This style of comic poetry, a kind of parody of the Ballad, a series of quatrains generally leading up to a paraprosdokian or surprise in the fourth line, was initiated by [Oliver] Goldsmith in this merry tale.”

CEFR level