Syllepsis

Syllepsis is not what happens after you’ve eaten too much spicy chili.

Syllepsis is a figure of speech in which a word, typically a verb or an adjective, is applied to two or more nouns without being repeated, but with a different, often figurative meaning for each.

Okay … that sounds way too nerdy.

The Rolling stones sang: “She blew my nose and then she blew my mind.”

Another example of syllepsis:

He lost his coat and his temper,’

where the verb ‘lost’ applies both to the literal coat and figuratively to his temper.

“The first speaker spoke like Churchill. The last speaker spoke… like a rusty bicycle wheel.”

Here, the verb “spoke” is used in two ways.

This witty use of language adds a clever twist. In marketing parlance, it’s pattern interrupt. Something is off. Your listeners will pause, focus, and try to decode the message and the meaning.