Anesis (an’-e-sis): Adding a concluding sentence that diminishes the effect of what has been said previously. The opposite of epitasis.
The most important thing in the history of the world was going to happen. Well, maybe not the most important, but pretty important. I was going to get my first tattoo. I had an appointment at “Etch-A-Flesh” tomorrow at 9:00 pm. I had one problem though: I hadn’t decided what I wanted to have “etched” on my flesh. Choosing your first tattoo is like choosing your wife. Chances are, you’ll be together for the rest of your life. I had already been married twice, so I knew the comparison was bogus, but I liked how it sounded.
I had spent the last month looking at tattoos on the internet and taking screen shots of tattoos I liked. I liked Loony Tunes cartoon characters. I liked Bugs Bunny, but Yosemite Sam was a winner. I liked his angry personality and gunplay. I stuck him up on my bedroom wall as a first pick. Then, there were the unnamed fiends. I like the one with blood dripping razor-sharp teeth. I picked one out that had red eyes too. There were tribal tattoos that I didn’t like. They reminded me of the pattern on my Mom’s bathrobe. Anyway, after a month of searching, I had found nothing that inspired me. Then, as I was searching through a pile of my old comic books, the second one in the pile was an “Inspector Gadget” comic book. It had promise. I set it aside and kept looking. I hit on something I had totally forgotten: “My Little Pony.” Twilight Sparkle was my favorite little pony. I had to have her on my skin, but I loved inspector Gadget too. I could’ve gotten two tattoos, but I had a better idea. I would get a tattoo of Inspector Gadget riding Twilight Sparkle. It would be a masterpiece. Plus, I would have the Ponys’ motto inscribed below: “Friendship is Magic.”
I got to the tattoo parlor early and showed the pictures to the tattoo artist and explained how I wanted it put together in the tattoo. She left the room and came back with a stack of legal documents for me to sign. I signed them, although I was a little worried.
I get a variety of responses when I show people my tattoo. The worst was “You should have your arm amputated.” The best so far is “Cute.” Most normally, I get “Ewww.” That’s ok with me, I’ve never been that popular or attractive. I’m used to rejection. So, I’m going to get another tattoo. It is going to be a basket of Brussels sprouts that says “Eat Me Raw” underneath it. I was pretty sure it would lure in the girls with the health food theme. It didn’t. “Disgusting” and “Get a life” were the two most frequent epithets hurled at my veggie basket. I have covered it with a strip of duct tape until I can begin the removal process.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
The Daily Trope is available on Amazon in paperback under the title of The Book of Tropes for $9.95. It is also available in Kindle format for $5.99.
The Daily Trope 