I'm looking for a word that means: to state something indirectly by saying that you're not going to mention it, i.e. "I am going to discuss Ted Kennedy tonight without making any references to the tragic death of Mary Jo Kopechne."
a·poph·a·sis (ə-pŏf'ə-sĭs) n. Allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned, as in I will not bring up my opponent's questionable financial dealings.
[Late Latin, from Greek, from apophanai, to say no : apo-, apo- + phanai, to say.]
From Atomica
Thanks to bridget96 for introducing me to this term in one of her posts. Hope you're back soon, b!
jimbo welcome to the board! Thanks for asking, now I know there is a word to describe that wily way of stating something indirectly by saying that you're not going to mention it.
Rapunzel Thanks again for the info. Now tell me, at a party will they run away in droves if I say "you have just committed an apophasis"? Oh, the richness of the language!
at a party will they run away in droves if I say "you have just committed an apophasis"?
Rapunzel, what a great idea ! The next time I'm bored to tears at a gathering I am going to say : "I hate to mention my condition but I must leave. My chronic apophasis is acting up."
Hello jimbo! Wecome to the Board. Thanks for a neat query.
Can someone explain to me why the definitions of apophasis seem to be so fundamentally between AHD and the rhetoric web site?! A figure of reasoning is certainly a long way from the tongue-in-cheek irony that, we are all now sure is known as 'paral#psis, ..or cataphasis, or ...
note: please replace the hash sign with the vowel(s) of your choice :-)
please replace the hash sign with the vowel(s) of your choice :-)
Works better with hash, Romeo
But in non-answering agreement with your puzzlement, for convenience of discussion here are some of the terms’ daftinitions™ laid out sidle by sidle (with a nother rudd hiring):
Cataphasis A kind of paralipsis in which one explicitly affirms the negative qualities that one then passes over. Example: I will say nothing here of his fraudulent practices. http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Figures/CATAPHASIS.htm
Affirmation 1. English equivalent of cataphasis 2. English equivalent of affirmatio a general figure of emphasis that describes when one states something as though it had been in dispute or in answer to a question, though it has not been. http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Redirect/AFFIRMATION.htm
Antiphrasis Irony of one word, often derisively through patent contradiction. Also, a synonym for paralipsis (Quintilian). Example - Referring to a tall person: "Now there's a midget for you" http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Figures/ANTIPHRASIS.htm
Can someone explain to me why the definitions of apophasis seem to be so fundamentally between AHD and the rhetoric web site?! I think it has something to do with the need to provide "content" for the exponentially growing volume of "information sources". The "quality" (who dares to speak of "truth"?) of the content is secondary. Recently I happended to receive two newspapers carrying articles about the same event: A medieval ship (galley) reconstructed on a Swiss lake. One paper described the oars as "weighing 41kg, and rowed by 3 men", the other paper had "oars weighing 95kg, rowed by 4 men each".
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[wondering if there's an emoticon indicating a deeper shade of red]
