Today’s WOTD – 19 September 2012

paraprosdokian

[par-uh-pros-dok-ee-un]

noun

A paraprosdokian is 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. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax.

For example:

– Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

– A bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don’t need it.

– You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

– When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

– Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

– Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Today’s quote

‘Nothing is permanent in this wicked world – not even our troubles’.

– Charlie Chaplin

On this day

19  September – International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

19 September 1928 – Mickey Mouse makes his screen debut, in ‘Steamboat Willy’.

19 September 1952 – Charlie Chaplin exiled from the United States because of his anti-war and humanitarian beliefs which conflicted with McCarthy’s ‘reds under the bed’ policy.

19 September 1959 – USSR President Nikita Khrushchev banned from visiting Disneyland … ironically 51 years after Mickey Mouse debuted on screen. The reason given was that the Los Angeles Police Chief  couldn’t provide adequate security.