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Figaro rips the innards out of things people say and reveals the rhetorical tricks and pratfalls. For terms and definitions, click here.
(What are figures of speech?)
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Friday, September 9, 2005 at 08:25AM
Quote: "I used to think it was so bad, but it's like, everyone has sex. I'm sure everyone has filmed a tape." Paris Hilton in Vanity Fair
Figure of Speech: apodixis (ah poe DIX is), the everybody-knows-it-or-does-it figure
Paris Hilton, the hotel heiress who unwittingly starred in the most widely distributed internet porn ever, is now a demure homemaker engaged to a jillionaire named Paris and anticipating a litter of arrondissements.
An apodixis (Greek for "proof") refers to common knowledge or experience to prove a point—in this case to show she's just an ordinary gal. It's like, every housewife gets her picture taken wearing nothing but jodhpurs. And who hasn't enjoyed group sex in front of a video camera?
Snappy Answer: "We wanted to, but there was a casting problem."
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