What is zeugma in simple words?

Zeugma is when one word, usually a verb, connects to two other words but means something different with each. In “She lost her keys and her temper,” lost is literal with keys and figurative with temper.

How do you pronounce zeugma?

Say ZOOG-muh, with the stress on the first syllable: /ˈzuːɡ.mə/. The plural is zeugmas or, more formally, zeugmata (ZOOG-muh-tuh). The word comes from Greek and means “a yoking together.”

What is the difference between zeugma and syllepsis?

Writers on rhetoric don’t agree. Some use the terms as synonyms. Others use syllepsis for the meaning-shift type and zeugma for a word that fits only one partner grammatically. Most dictionaries accept zeugma for both.

What is a famous example of zeugma?

In Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock (1714), a woman might “stain her honour, or her new brocade.” The verb stain works literally with the fabric and figuratively with her reputation, which makes the line comic.

Is zeugma a grammar mistake?

It can be. A deliberate zeugma is wordplay. An accidental one, such as “She ate a sandwich and a cup of coffee,” is a mistake, because you drink coffee. Fix it by adding the right verb.

Why do writers use zeugma?

It is short, witty and surprising. The reader expects one meaning, meets a second one, and has to rethink the sentence. Writers use it for humor, irony or to link a small event with a big one.

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