Antiphrasis

Antiphrasis is the rhetorical device of saying the opposite of what is actually meant in such a way that it is obvious what the true intention is.[1]

Some authors treat and use antiphrasis just as irony, euphemism or litotes.[2]

Etymology

Antiphrasis is a Greek word which means 'opposite words'.[3][4]

Antiphrasis as euphemism

Some euphemisms are antiphrasis, such as "Eumenides" 'the gracious ones' to mean the Erinyes, deities of vengeance.

Examples
  • "Take your time, we've got all day", meaning "hurry up, we don't have all day".
  • "Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly" appears to be an invitation, but is in fact a threat.
  • "Tell me about it", in the sense of "don't bother, I already know".
  • "Great!", an exclamation uttered when something unpleasant had happened or is about to happen.

See also

Notes
  1. Bernard Dupriez, tr. Albert W. Halsall, A Dictionary of Literary Devices: Gradus, A–Z, ISBN 0802068030, pp. 49–50
  2. Merry, Bruce (2004). Encyclopedia of Modern Greek Literature. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-30813-0.
  3. "Antiphrasis - Definition and Examples of Antiphrasis". Literary Devices. 2014-05-09. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  4. Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1882). Etymological and Pronouncing Dictionary of Difficult Words. Ward, Lock.


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