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!

  • Contact Me

    This form will allow you to send a secure email to the owner of this page. Your email address is not logged by this system, but will be attached to the message that is forwarded from this page.
  • Your Name *
  • Your Email *
  • Subject *
  • Message *

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

This Just In: Stupidity Discovered in Washington

DateMonday, October 24, 2005 at 04:26PM

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?"

AuthorFigaro | CommentPost a Comment |
Print ArticlePrint Article

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.

Notify me of follow-up comments via email.