Aug
1
Paraprosdokias
Examples:
- “If I am reading this graph correctly — I’d be very surprised.” —Stephen Colbert[4]
- “If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.” —Dorothy Parker[4]
- “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.” —Groucho Marx[5]
- “She looks as though she’s been poured into her clothes, and forgot to say ‘when’.” —P. G. Wodehouse[5]
- “I like going to the park and watching the children run around because they don’t know I’m using blanks.” —Emo Philips[5]
- “I haven’t slept for ten days, because that would be too long.” —Mitch Hedberg[3]
- “I sleep eight hours a day and at least ten at night.” —Bill Hicks[3]
The “sudden reframe” has gotta be one of the basic atomic units of humour - didn’t know it had a proper name.
