| amphiboly |
| Definition -
(1) An ambiguously structured clause or sentence that can be interpretted in multiple ways. (2) A figure of speech where the ambiguity is purposely created by using an ambiguously structured clause or sentence. |
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Example - "I once shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I'll never know." (Groucho Marx, Animal Crackers) |
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Etymology - The word derives from the Greek amphibolia, ambiguity. |
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Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation for sense (1) is from circa 1610: "What a crafty Amphibolie or Æquivocation." (Holland Camden's Brit. i. 307) Its first citation for sense (2) is from 1588: "Amphiboly, when the sentence may bee turned both the wayes, so that a man shall be uncertayne what waye to take." (Fraunce Lawiers Log. i. iv. 27b,) |