If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong

The word is odd, but the concept is fun.

paraprosdokian / pæ-rê-prahz-dok-i-ên / noun


Dr. Goodword enlightens us: A paraprosdokian is a phrase or sentence that leads us down the garden path to an unexpected ending. It sets us up to expect one thing but ends on a surprising semantic twist. For example, commenting on the progressive ideas of Labor Party member Sir Stafford Cripps (1889-1952), Winston Churchill once quipped: "There but for the grace of God—goes God."

Though many writers were good at creating paraprosdokians, few excelled Winston Churchill and Groucho Marx. Churchill once said, "You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing—after they have tried everything else." One of Groucho's many paraprosdokians is: "I had a wonderful evening—but this wasn't it." Of course, we should not forget W. C. Fields, who once quipped, " "Philadelphia, wonderful town, spent a week there one night. Still not enough paraprosdokians?

Paraprosdokian, Dr. Goodword says, is immediately composed of Greek para "beyond" and prosdokia "expectation". Prosdokia comprises pro and the root of dokein "to think, imagine, expect".The same root gave us the Greek words dogma and paradox, another word referring to something beyond our expectations. In Latin the same root emerged as docere "to teach" (cause to think) and went into the making of the word borrowed by English as doctor "the highest university degree". 

Here are some examples.

• Two wrongs don't make a right—but three lefts do.
• Now, you take my wife . . . PLEASE! —Henny Youngman
• Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
• If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.
• War does not determine who is right—only who is left.
• The early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese.
• I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way, so I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
• Do not argue with an idiot: he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
• I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.