aprosdoketon en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˌæp.ɹəsˈdɑ.kɪˌtɑn/ (US) with Grecian stress
- (US) audio
- /əˌpɹɑs.dəˈkiˌtɑn/ (US) with Latinate stress
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀπροσδόκητος (aprosdókētos, “unexpected”).
Meanings
-
A figure of speech where an expected word in an idiom is replaced unexpectedly by an unusual one, as in Rome wasn't built in a teacup.
Is the poet saying "I do not chance on even a slight respect from you" or "I chance on a good amount of respect from you," a meaning which effectively postpones the aprosdoketon to the final line[?]
1997, T. Tarkow, Theognis 237–254: A Reexamination, in Quaderni urbinati di cultura classica 26, quoted in Roman Constructions (Don Fowler, 2000), http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0198153090&id=cVR01SLMLC0C&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=aprosdoketon&sig=az-o0Q6Pqsvfq64OEtILKFU9_VM
-
(broadly) Any surprising use or interpretation of language.
In later restagings of the Thesmophoriazusae, as in the 1959 Frogs, Euripides made his appearance driving a motorcycle. This scenic aprosdoketon was, of course, an ingenious verbal and visual pun on the word mechane and its different meanings in ancient and modern Greek: "stage crane" and "motorbike," respectively.
2000, Gonda A. H. Van Steen, Venom in Verse:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| aprosdoketa | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| aprosdoceton | alternative | lexicographic | |
| aprosdoketons | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
mixed metaphor · malapropism · antiproverb · malaphor
Translations (1)
de Aprosdoketon (figure of speech)