English Literature, 20th cent. to the Present

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ZEUGMA

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language | 1998 | | Copyright

ZEUGMA.
1. Also syllepsis. In RHETORIC, a phrase in which a word, usually a verb, is followed by two or more other words that commonly collocate with it, but not together: ‘The morning brought misty sunshine and the nurse’ ( Mary Stewart, Wildfire at Midnight, 1956). A figurative use usually precedes a literal use; in Pope's Rape of the Lock (1714), the heroine might ‘stain her Honour, or her new Brocade’ and ‘lose her Heart, or Neck-lace, at a Ball’.

2. A form of ellipsis regarded as poor style: X is as big if not bigger than Y, from which the *X is as big than Y can be extracted. The balanced form is X is as big as, if not bigger than, Y.

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TOM McARTHUR. "ZEUGMA." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

TOM McARTHUR. "ZEUGMA." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-ZEUGMA.html

TOM McARTHUR. "ZEUGMA." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-ZEUGMA.html

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zeugma

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

zeug·ma / ˈzoōgmə/ • n. a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses (e.g., John and his license expired last week) or to two others of which it semantically suits only one (e.g., with weeping eyes and hearts). Compare with syllepsis. DERIVATIVES: zeug·mat·ic / zoōgˈmatik/ adj.

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"zeugma." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"zeugma." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-zeugma.html

"zeugma." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-zeugma.html

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zeugma

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

zeugma, a figure of speech by which a single word is made to refer to two or more words in a sentence, when properly applying in sense to only one of them; e.g. ‘See Pan with flocks, with fruits Pomona crowned’. Cf. syllepsis.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "zeugma." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "zeugma." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-zeugma.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "zeugma." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-zeugma.html

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zeugma

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

zeugma (rhet.) figure by which a single word or phrase is made improperly to apply to two or more words or phrases XIX (earlier in wider use XVI.) — L. — Gr. zeûgma yoking, f. zeugnúnai vb. rel. to zugón YOKE.

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T. F. HOAD. "zeugma." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "zeugma." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-zeugma.html

T. F. HOAD. "zeugma." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-zeugma.html

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zeugma

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

zeugma •dormer, former, korma, Norma, performer, pro-forma, stormer, transformer, trauma, warmer •sixth-former • barnstormer •aroma, carcinoma, chroma, coma, comber, diploma, glaucoma, Homer, lymphoma, melanoma, misnomer, Oklahoma, Omagh, roamer, Roma, romer, sarcoma, soma •beachcomber •bloomer, boomer, consumer, Duma, humour (US humor), Nkrumah, perfumer, puma, roomer, rumour (US rumor), satsuma, stumer, Sumer, tumour (US tumor) •zeugma • fulmar •bummer, comer, drummer, hummer, midsummer, mummer, plumber, rummer, strummer, summa, summer •latecomer • newcomer • agama •welcomer •astronomer, monomer •ashrama • isomer • gossamer •customer •affirmer, Burma, derma, Irma, murmur, squirmer, terra firma, wormer

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"zeugma." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-zeugma.html

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