Protrope (pro-tro’-pe): A call to action, often by using threats or promises.
If you don’t eat your spinach your ears will fall off and you may have a heart attack! Ha! Ha! Just kidding! Actually, you’ll be grounded for life without parole. Eat the spinach! Now!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Paenismus (pai-nis’-mus): Expressing joy for blessings obtained or an evil avoided.
I am blessed: the drugstore is well-stocked with gallon-sized bottles of Malox. Now I’m ready to drink mint-flavored liquid chalk and ride out “Brinky Boehner and the Conserva-Nuts” cacophonus rendition of “Bye Bye American Pie.”
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Posted in paenismus
Tagged brinky boehner, bye bye american pie, conserva-nuts, elocutio, example, figures of speech, Malox, paenismus, rhetoric, trope
Aganactesis (ag’-an-ak-tee’-sis): An exclamation proceeding from deep indignation.
You cheated. You lied. You broke my heart. Now, my father’s going to break your legs.
Crawl to hell, you worthless bag of DNA!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Synaloepha (sin-a-lif’-a): Omitting one of two vowels which occur together at the end of one word and the beginning of another. A contraction of neighboring syllables. A kind of metaplasm.
Shutdown, meltdown, showdown, fall down.
Screw up, mess up, give up, throw up.
Up or down, down or up, one thing’s for sure: Those politicians are headed straight t’election day with hell to pay–a debt with no ceiling eternally funding the wages of their sins.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Posted in synaloepha
Tagged debt ceiling, elocutio, eternal punishment, example, figures of speech, hell to pay debt, rhetoric, synaloepha, trope, wages of sin
Bdelygmia (del-ig’-mi-a): Expressing hatred and abhorrence of a person, word, or deed.
“Negotiate” has lost its lustre as politicians shamelessly defame it in their obscene media machinations, as if refusing their cynical call to “negotiate” somehow signifies a Presidential character flaw.
Do we negoitiate with terrorists? No.
Do we negotiate with hostage takers? No.
Do we negotiate with highjackers? No.
We say that it’s a sign of courage to do one’s duty and refuse to negotiate when there’s a metaphorical gun to one’s head.
We say give back “negotiation’s” promising and hopeful meaning so it may further our shared democratic project. Let’s negotiate so that we may fill the political fissure with a common ground wherupon we may charitably pursue the common good.
Put down the gun.
Pick up the phone.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Posted in bdelygmia
Tagged bdelygmia, elocutio, example, guns, machinations, negotiation, pick up the phone, rhetoric, trope
Inopinatum (in-o-pi-na’-tum): The expression of one’s inability to believe or conceive of something; a type of faux wondering. As such, this kind of paradox is much like aporia and functions much like a rhetorical question or erotema. [A paradox is] a statement that is self-contradictory on the surface, yet seems to evoke a truth nonetheless [can include oxymoron].
What exactly does the US House of Representatives represent?
Constipated regularity?
Sincere insincerity?
Adult adolescence?
Who exactly does the US House of Representatives represent?
John Galt?
John Birch?
John Calvin?
John Belushi?
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
The Daily Trope 