Flanders & Swann
Why English Language & Usage Stack Exchange recommends it
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange users link it as a classic example of syllepsis, where one word is used in two different senses in the same sentence for comic effect.
Recommended by 0 people across 0 different months, 2013 to 2016.
What it is
A 3-minute filmed performance of Flanders and Swann's comic song "Madeira, M'Dear" from their Broadway show At the Drop of Another Hat (1967). The song is a Victorian-style cautionary tale full of wordplay, uploaded by the channel LeonPFB.
Cited in 1 Wikipedia article, including At the Drop of Another Hat.
What people said
Cites Barrie England · 2013-01 · English Language & Usage Stack Exchange · on “She was carrying twins and a bulky bag in her hands”
Carry can mean ‘pregnant with’, but it cannot be used intransitively. It has to be something like ‘When I was carrying my son . . .’ The sentence 'She was carrying twins and a bulky bag in her hands' would probably be taken to mean that the lady was heavily laden rather than pregnant. If the writer’s intention was to indicate the latter, that would, as Andrew has said, be an example of syllepsis , in which the function of a verb changes during a sentence. Such a device is normally used for comic effect, as it is several times in ‘Have Some Madeira, M’Dear’ [this video] as sung by Donald Flanders and Michael Swann, and from which this is an extract: When he asked, "What in Heaven?" She made no rep
Cites James Waldby - jwpat7 · 2014-06 · English Language & Usage Stack Exchange · on “Can't think of a name for a rhetorical figure”
It's an example of syllepsis [LINK] : (rhetoric) A figure of speech in which one word simultaneously modifies two or more other words such that the modification must be understood differently with respect to each modified word; often causing humorous incongruity For more examples and discussion, see • Using verbs with multiple meanings [LINK] , • Stop if you feel faint or pain! [LINK] [duplicate], • She was carrying twins and a bulky bag in her hands [LINK] [duplicate], • Is this sentence semantically correct? [LINK] Also see the wikipedia zeugma [LINK] article, which distinguishes Type 1, Grammatical Syllepsis (or, zeugma ) from Type 2, Semantic Syllepsis (or, syllepsis ), giving as example
Cites Joni · 2016-05 · English Language & Usage Stack Exchange · on “Term used for juxtaposing different meanings of the same word”
There is a technique used occasionally in (often comic) writing, whereby two different meanings of the same word are combined in a sentence to create a sense of surprise in the reader. My particular favourite comes from the Flanders and Swann song "Madeira M'Dear" ( [this video] ): "And he said as he hastened to put out the cat, the wine, his cigar and the lamps" (So the cat is removed, the wine is brought in, and the cigar and lamps are extinguished) Is there a proper name for this as a literary device?