Definition:
Emphasizing a point by seeming to pass over it. See also:
Etymology:
From the Greek, "disregard"Examples:
- "The music, the service at the feast,
The noble gifts for the great and small,
The rich adornment of Theseus's palace . . .
All these things I do not mention now."
(Chaucer, "The Knight's Tale," The Canterbury Tales) - "Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it.
It is not meet you know how Caesar lov'd you."
(Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, III.ii) - "Paralipsis: a form of irony in which one gets one's message across by suggesting the outlines of the message that one is struggling to suppress. We are not going to say that paralipsis is . . . the habitual refuge of the courtroom mechanic, who abuses it in order to suggest to the jury what he can very well deny to the judge ever having said."
(L. Bridges and W. Rickenbacker, The Art of Persuasion, 1991) - "Let's pass swiftly over the vicar's predilection for cream cakes. Let's not dwell on his fetish for Dolly Mixture. Let's not even mention his rapidly increasing girth. No, no--let us instead turn directly to his recent work on self-control and abstinence."
(Tom Coates, Plasticbag.org, April 5, 2003) - "Obama characterized Clinton's remarks as 'tired Washington politicians and the games they play.'
"'She made an unfortunate remark about Martin Luther King and Lyndon Johnson,' he said. 'I haven't remarked on it. And she offended some folks who thought she diminished the role about King and the civil rights movement. The notion that this is our doing is ludicrous.'
"Obama went on to criticize Clinton's interview, saying that she spent an hour focused on attacking him rather than 'telling people about her positive vision for America.'"
(Domenico Montanaro, "Obama: Clinton MLK Comments 'Ludicrous,'" NBC First Read, January 13, 2008)
Pronunciation: pa-ra-LEP-sis
Also Known As: apophasis
Alternate Spellings: paralipsis, paraleipsis
