zeugma
(noun) use of a verb with two or more complements, playing on the verb’s polysemy, for humorous effect; “‘Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave’ is an example of zeugma”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
zeugma (plural zeugmata or zeugmas)
(rhetoric) The act of using a word, particularly an adjective or verb, to apply to more than one noun when its sense is appropriate to only one.
(rhetoric) Syllepsis.
Some writers distinguish between zeugma and syllepsis, while others do not.
• brachylogy
• syllepsis
Source: Wiktionary
Zeug"ma, n. Etym: [L., from Gr. Yoke.] (Gram.)
Definition: A figure by which an adjective or verb, which agrees with a nearer word, is, by way of supplement, referred also to another more remote; as, "hic illius arma, hic currus fuit;" where fuit, which agrees directly with currus, is referred also to arma.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
9 May 2025
(noun) anything in accord with principles of justice; “he feels he is in the right”; “the rightfulness of his claim”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
