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ZEUGMA From the Greek meaning “yoking,” a
zeugma is a rhetorical fi gure in which one word refers
to or governs two or more, sometimes very different,
terms. For example, in Sonnet 21 from ASTROPHIL AND
STELLA, SIR PHILIP SIDNEY uses zeugma in the fi rst qua-
train to connect confl icting adjectives. The pairing of
terms is often ironic. GEOFFREY CHAUCER’s “The MILLER’S
PROLOGUE AND TALE,” for instance, warns that a hus-
band should not be “inquisity / Of goddes pryvetee,
nor of his wyf” (ll. 3163–3164). Here the yoking of

divine mysteries, or “pryvetee,” and a wife’s private

business (as well as “private parts”) offers a shocking

but humorous juxtaposition.

Zeugma is distinguished from syllepsis in that

zeugma is sometimes considered a nongrammatical

pairing of elements, whereas syllepsis is a grammati-

cally correct pairing (and usually involves verbs). Many

rhetoricians, however, use zeugma to refer to either

kind of yoking.

Susan Yager

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