Jan

4

Zeugma

Filed Under Z 

My favorite word is zeugma because it’s a nice-looking word, and because of the wordplay involved. I work with several writers who try unknowingly to use examples of zeugma (”She stole my heart and my money”) but fail at it. It’s a tough thing to master.

Sophie

Comments

2 Responses to “Zeugma”

  1. WILLOBIE on June 19th, 2008 12:22 pm

    That would have been my favorite had you not gotten there first. I’m not sure your example is really a zeugma. The classic example is “She slipped on her kimono and a banana peel”. The word “slip” goes through a startling shift in meaning between the two items being yoked.

  2. WILLOBIE on June 20th, 2008 8:47 am

    I just discovered that my favorite type of zeugma is the syllepsis, which is the joining of disparate meanings with a common verb which changes meaning.

    You held your breath and the door for me.

    I took her hand and then an aspirin in the morning.

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