First of all, what is a paraprosdokian? Sounds like something Robin might yell it out if he could pronounce it – “Holy Purple Paraprosdokians, Batman!” It is taken from two Greek words, “para” which means “beyond” and “prosdokian” which means “expectation”. So, a good paraprosdokian is a sentence (or sometimes two) which is beyond the expectation of the listener. In other words, the second part of the sentence or a phrase delivers something quite unexpected to the audience. Some of the best comedians of all time have employed these paraprosdokians to great effect. As well as raising a laugh they can quite often produce the right kind of an anticlimax which a comedian looks for in a punch line.

They can get even cleverer than that, though. When a paraprosdokian is particularly good it will change the meaning of the first part of a phrase by playing on a word’s potential double meaning. This can create what is known as a syllepsis. This is where the primary verb of a sentence can change meaning according to the other words in the sentence. OK, example time. Alanis Morisette once sang “You held your breath and the door for me”. The use of “held” changes in the sentence according to the nouns “breath” and “door”. Cool or what?

The seasoned deliverer of paraprosdokians can even include an ellipsis. This is represented in English by three dots. Here is an example. Count Dracula could say “I don’t drink… wine”. The three dots highlight an ambiguity in the sentence, the implication that he could well indeed drink something else instead!

Are you ready for some extreme examples of the paraprosdokian? Here we go in pursuit of the perfect paraprosdokian!

Churchill, who led the UK through the Second World War, was as much known in his day for his biting (sometimes cruel) wit as his political speeches. There does seem to be a connection between the ability to deliver the perfect paraprosdokian and the habit of cigar smoking (see the others in the list). Just coincidence… or cause? Sorry, couldn’t resist one of my own!

What hasn’t already been said about Groucho? Needless to say that despite dying a lifetime ago, the wit of this legendary comic lives on in his words for posterity. Strange how I no very few young people who have ever seen one of his films, but they have all heard of him. Cigar smoker #2.

Youngman was known as the king of the one liners in an age when comedians regularly built their humor upon anecdotes. His routines would usually only last between fifteen and twenty minutes but would contain hundred of gags that would leave the audience rolling. Little wonder then that this comedian hailed from Liverpool in the UK, whose denizens are known for their rapid fire wit. Cigar smoker #3.

Monkhouse was a much loved British TV comedian and later a game show host. He was well known for his ironic asides to camera. He collected all his jokes in a huge leather bound book and a national state of emergency was declared when it was stolen a few years before his death in 2003.

An unlikely candidate for this list due, perhaps, but it is often those who are regarded as not altogether the full deck who can come up with words of wisdom such as this. What? I don’t understand, what do you mean, “He’s not real,”?

Everett, who died in 1995 of an AIDS related illness, was an anarchic TV and radio presenter. He brought the world character such as Cupid Stunt, a Hollywood superstar who prefigured people like Pamela Anderson and Sid Snot, an obnoxious greasy biker. He is still well remembered and loved in the UK, despite his support of the Conservative Party.

As! Tommy Cooper! If you are of a certain age and born in the UK then this man dominated your youthful attempts to make people laugh in the playground. Arms and hands outstretched and a quick “Just like that, not like that” never seemed the same from our tiny mouths. Another cigar smoker, Cooper died mid performance… the act was good though. See, I can’t resist them! Cigar smoker #4.

Possibly the current king of the paraprosdokian, Phillips’ stage show relies heavily on this technique to raise a laugh from his audience. He also uses a lot of garden path sentences (oh yes, there’s more!) A typical example would be “the man who whistles tunes pianos”. Well, some people find it funny!

Hedberg is mostly familiar for his distinctive delivery, he is almost of the Youngman School in his use of one liners. He became such a cult following that people would go to his shows and shout out the punch lines before he got a chance to deliver them. Time for Emo Phillips style action in the park later, I would hope!

…and back to the master of the form, good of Winston Churchill. It could always be said of a good one liner that it can borrow itself to any situation and this is the epitome of transferability.

So there you have it, the wicked and wonderful world of the paraprosdokian. I hope you have thoroughly enjoyed it… and the article too!