Daily Archives: February 19, 2022

Protherapeia

Posted on February 19, 2022 | Comments Off on Protherapeia

Protherapeia (pro-ther-a-pei’-a): Preparing one’s audience for what one is about to say through conciliating words. If what is to come will be shocking, the figure is called prodiorthosis.

It has been a long hard winter: piles of snow and freezing cold have kept us indoors, where we have grown contentious and tired of each other. Yesterday I punched your father in the nose for singing Christmas carols out of season. I regret that and will apologize soon. Maybe in March.

I read the weather forecast today. The temperature is supposed to rise above freezing for the first time since November. The snow has abated. The constant wind is slowing. The days are growing longer. Soon, we will be in the throes of Spring. Can anybody remember what wild strawberries smell like, what ramps taste like, what fiddlehead ferns look like?

Thank God for the changing season, though I would be happy with three: Spring, Summer, and Fall. I think I’ll have a beer to hasten the season’s change. Kids: Why don’t you put on your bathing suits and sit by the fire?

Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).

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Protrope

Posted on February 19, 2022 | Comments Off on Protrope

Protrope (pro-tro’-pe): A call to action, often by using threats or promises.

A. If you stop calling me “John Boy” I’ll buy you all the seasons of “The Waltons” and you can go to the motel nearby and watch them all, even if it takes a week. I’ll drop you off and you can call me when you’re done. Watching them all should burn you out on “John Boy” and give you an opening to call me by my real name, “Analon.” As you know, it’s an old family name dating to the 17th century when my family was revered for clearing constipated livestock. It was a professional name that became a surname, and then a first name popular among farmers and practitioners alike. I am proud of my heritage and proud of my whole name: Analon Buttmucker. For you, I will consider changing my last name, but not my first. I am seriously considering changing it to Butt, a shortened version of Buttmucker. I might even drop one of the t’s so as not to call attention to it’s origins in hind ends.

B. Ok Butt Boy. Ha ha. All right, I’m ready to start calling you Analon when I get back from my motel sojourn. But, I could be gone for a month—not a week. I’ll get that nice college boy who lives next store to drive me to the motel and help me move in. When the time comes, you can just stay here and work on your macrame placemats.

The DVDs arrive and she arrives a the Sugar Dunes Motel with the nice college boy.

C. That’s sure a lot of DVDs Ma’m. Where should I put ‘em?

B. On the dresser by the TV. Do you mind if I call you John Boy?

Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).

Buy a print edition of The Daily Trope! The print edition is entitled The Book of Tropes and is available on Amazon for $9.99. It is also available in Kindle format for $5.99.

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