Definition and Examples of Zeugma

Definition and Examples of Zeugma Zeugma is aâ rhetorical term for the utilization of a word to change or oversee at least two words in spite of the fact that its utilization might be syntactically or consistently right with just one. Modifier: zeugmatic. Rhetorician Edward P.J. Corbett offers this qualification among zeugma and syllepsis: in zeugma, in contrast to syllepsis, the single word doesn't fit syntactically or informally with one individual from the pair. Consequently, in Corbetts see, the primary model beneath would be syllepsis, the subsequent zeugma: You are allowed to execute your laws, and your residents, as you see fit.(Star Trek: The Next Generation)Kill the young men and the luggage!​(Fluellen in William Shakespeares Henry V) In any case, as Bernard Dupriez calls attention to in A Dictionary of Literary Devices (1991), There is little understanding among rhetoricians on the contrast among syllepsis and zeugma, and Brian Vickers takes note of that even the Oxford English Dictionary confounds syllepsis and zeugma (Classical Rhetoric in English Poetry, 1989). In contemporary manner of speaking, the two terms are ordinarily utilized reciprocally to allude to a hyperbole where a similar word is applied to two others in various faculties. Historical underpinnings From the Greek, a burdening, a bond Models and Observations Zeugma is the point at which a word applies to two others in various manners; or to two words when it just semantically suits one. A case of the previous statements Alanis Morissette: You held your breath and the entryway for me. How gallant and zeugmatic. A case of the last is with moaning mouths and hearts-however dont fault Morissette for this doggerel.(Gary Nunn, Move Over, George Orwell-This Is How to Sound Really Clever. The Guardian, October 11, 2013)He conveyed a strobe light and the duty regarding the lives of his men.(Tim OBrien, The Things They Carried. McClelland Stewart, 1990)She showed up in a taxi and a blazing rage.(John Lyons, Semantics. Cambridge University Press, 1977)We were accomplices, not perfect partners, two separate individuals who happened to be sharing a menu and a life.(Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses. Ivy Books, 1995)[H]e was then again clubbing his cerebrums and his jackass when, passing the workhouse, his eyes experienced the bill on the gate.(Cha rles Dickens, Oliver Twist, 1839) I just cleaned out my nose, a wire, and three circuit breakers.(The Jim Henson Hour, 1989)I was in such a scratch for this experience, I concede, brimming with dread and evening scotch and the toward home tug.(Marin Amis, Money. Jonathan Cape, 1984)Whether the sprite will break Dianas law,Or some slight China-container get a flaw,Or stain her respect, or her new brocade.(Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock, 1717)She brought down her norms by raising her glass,Her fortitude, her eyes and his hopes.(Flanders and Swann, Have Some Madeira, MDear)The topic of the Egg Hunt is learning is wonderful and scrumptious as, incidentally, am I.(Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg in The West Wing) Zeugma as a Writing Fault Like syllepsis, the figure known as zeugma utilizes a solitary word to interface two contemplations, yet in syllepsis the relationship of the connecting word to the two thoughts is right, while in zeugma the relationship is right for one thought however not for the other. A manufactured case of zeugma may be, He sat crunching his sandwich and his brew. A genuine model from fiction is, Something odd in the conduct of the pair held his consideration and his interest. The term zeugma is regularly used to allude to syllepsis, yet as here separated it clearly is a composing deficiency, which syllepsis isn't. (Theodore Bernstein, The Careful Writer: A Modern Guide to English Usage. Simon Schuster, 1965)Zeugma is frequently inadvertent, as in She wore a corroded dark dress, a quill boa, and a gator purse; since wore has no real application to tote, this zeugma is a blunder. (Edward D. Johnson, The Handbook of Good English. Washington Square, 1991)Confusing and Contradictory Distinctions Bet ween Zeugma and SyllepsisAlthough observers have generally attempted to recognize zeugma and syllepsis, the qualifications have been confounding and conflicting: even today concession to definitions in the logical handbooks is for all intents and purposes nil (The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, 1993). Were happier utilizing zeugma in its broadest sense and not befuddling matters by presenting syllepsis, a mostly secret term the significance of which even the specialists cannot concur on. (Bryan A. Gather, The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style, fourth ed. Oxford University Press, 2016) Elocution: ZOOG-muh