About This Site

Figaro rips the innards out of things people say and reveals the rhetorical tricks and pratfalls. For terms and definitions, click here.
(What are figures of speech?)
Ask Figaro a question!

This form does not yet contain any fields.

    « All the Vice President’s Men | Main | And I’m Like, What Are You Saying? »
    Monday
    Oct242005

    This Just In: Stupidity Discovered in Washington

    feithdunce.jpgQuote:  "Seldom in my life have I met a dumber man."  Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, referring to Undersecretary of Defense (and top Iraq war architect) Douglas Feith.

    Figure of Speech:  anastrophe (ann ASS trow fee), the word-order switch.

    Good thing Lawrence Wilkerson doesn't have a CIA spy for a wife.  He doesn't simply slam the policies of his former employers.  He also engages in that time-tested rhetorical device, the ad hominem attack, through an anastrophe -- Greek for "turning back."

    The figure changes the usual word order to produce a nobler, more sonorous tone.  "I have seldom met a dumber man" would have been pithier but less emphatic.

    Snappy Answer:  "Are you looking for regime change or a book deal?"

    PrintView Printer Friendly Version

    EmailEmail Article to Friend

    Reader Comments

    There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.

    PostPost a New Comment

    Enter your information below to add a new comment.

    My response is on my own website »
    Author Email (optional):
    Author URL (optional):
    Post:
     
    All HTML will be escaped. Hyperlinks will be created for URLs automatically.