Zeugma – yoking sentences together.

Of course when you are writing English and you are faced with that huge space to fill with words, it has got to be tempting to spread yourself a bit...

Zeugma is just the opposite!

It cuts bits out.

So if you were writing this:

In summer I like to wear a nice pair of shorts and a cotton shirt. Winter is a horrible time when I like to wear as many clothes as possible.

Zeugma makes it elegant.

In summer I like to wear a nice pair of shorts and a cotton shirt; in winter as many clothes as possible.

The good end happily; the bad unhappily.

My true love hath my heart, I his.

In quick succession, Susan lost her job, then her mind!

To be witty – add something frivolous on the end of the list:

"They tugged and tore at each other's hair and clothes, punched and scratched each other's nose, and covered themselves with dust and glory." - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain

 

Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? - (Jeremiah, the old Testament Prophet. 13.2)

The same words are not repeated, neither the verb. You trust the reader to fill in the gaps.

Yoking sentences together is just like two oxen pulling one plough. Elegant English, like all style, depends on saying as little as possible. Less is more...

Dusky mysteries are intriguing, in your face not so much.