Zeugma and syllepsis

This article is about the rhetorical concept of zeugma. For the historical city of Zeugma see The Ancient City of Zeugma

Zeugma (from the Greek word for "yoke") is a figure of speech in which one word applies to two others in different senses of that word, and in some cases only logically applies to one of the other two words. Dictionaries differ on the exact definition of zeugma, some not including the lack of logical application to one word (eg Oxford), and others insisting on it (eg Hutchinson's Dictionary of Difficult Words). Still others waver (eg Merriam-Webster's).

Examples:

• "Oh, flowers are as common here, Miss Fairfax, as people are in London." (from The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde) In this zeugma, Cecily is making a catty remark to Miss Fairfax, a Londoner, by using "common" in two senses, namely "numerous" and "vulgar".

• "Are you getting fit or having one?" (from the television program M*A*S*H) In this zeugma, Hawkeye uses the word "fit" not only in two different meanings, but also as two different parts of speech: "physically toned" (adjective) and "neurological crisis" (noun).

Other sources offer up examples such as "loud thunder and lightning" or "He broke the record and a leg" as zeugmas, perhaps reflecting the disagreement over the word's definition.

In syllepsis, a similar concept to zeugma, a word modifies others in appropriate, though often incongruous ways.

External links

Some examples of zeugma