zeugma
noun

- a literary term for using one word to modify two other words, in two different ways

- a use of language in which a word that has more than one meaning is used with one meaning in one part of a sentence and with a different meaning in another part of the sentence, usually in order to produce a humorous effect

Vocabulary Com, Cambridge Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "zeugma" originates from Ancient Greek and carries a rich history connected to language and rhetoric. Here’s its etymology:

ζεῦγμα (zeûgma): the original Greek word means “yoke” or “bond,” referring to something that joins or connects. In its literal sense, it described the bar connecting two oxen for plowing, emphasizing the idea of linking two things.

The term was adopted into Latin with the same spelling, zeugma, retaining its meaning of joining or connection, especially in rhetorical or grammatical contexts.

By the 16th century, zeugma entered English via Latin, specifically as a rhetorical device.

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ZEUGMATIC PLEASURES

- “They covered themselves with dust and glory” — Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)

- “Miss Bolo rose from the table considerably agitated, and went straight home in a flood of tears and a sedan-chair.” — Charles Dickens (The Pickwick Papers)

- “Yet  time and her aunt moved slowly…” — Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)

- “You crashed my party and your rental car” — Taylor Swift (The Tortured Poets Department)

- “She blew my nose and then she blew my mind” — The Rolling Stones (Honky Tonk Women)

- “Now when all the clowns that you have commissioned have died in battle or in vain” — Bob Dylan (In Queen Jane Approximately)

- “A house they call the rising sun, where love and money are made” — Dolly Parton (9 to 5 and Odd Jobs)

- “You are free to execute your laws, and your citizens, as you see fit” — Commander Riker (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

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SYNONYMS

accouplement, adjacency, atypical pairing, blended expression, bridge word, chaining, combination, conjunction, coupling, double duty, double-barreled phrase, double-duty phrasing, dual application, dual-purpose wording, ellipsis (of words), fusion, grammatical pun, hinge phrase, hitching (post), juxtaposition, linking (device), literary braid, metaphorical shortcut, multi-tasking sentence, one-for-two (construction), rhetorical bridge (pivot), semantic bridge (double-take, splice, zeugma), shared element, single word pivot, split reference (structure), stylistic overlap, syllepsis, syntactic compression (economy), tethering, trope, twinning, two-for-one, verbal economy (shortcut), word bridge (economy, hinge, splice, yoke), yoking (together), ZEUGMA

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