Litotes (li-to’-tees): Deliberate understatement, especially when expressing a thought by denying its opposite. The Ad Herennium author suggests litotes as a means of expressing modesty (downplaying one’s accomplishments) in order to gain the audience’s favor (establishing ethos).
E: New Jersey.
A: Bigger than a breadbasket.
E: Governor Christie.
A: Bigger than a breadbasket.
E: Is there anything smaller than a breadbasket?
A: My parking space in Hoboken.
E: What about Fort Lee?
A: Bigger than a toll booth.
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Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
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