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Saying Less, Meaning More: The Power of Anapodotons
Description
Have you ever heard the phrase, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do"?
It means you should follow the customs of the place you're visiting or the people you're with. So in Japan, for example, you should take off your shoes before entering someone's home, because it's the custom.
However, people often shorten this phrase to just, "When in Rome."
Phrases like this, where part of the sentence is not spoken but the meaning is still clear, are called "anapodotons" ("an-uh-PAW-duh-tuns"). People don't say the second part of the phrase, but everyone knows what they mean.
But why do people leave phrases unfinished?
According to Instagram linguist Adam Aleksic, it's because we like to save time and effort when talking. By saying less, we can still share the full idea, as long as others know the rest of the phrase.
Anapodotons are very common in English. Let's look at some more now!
"Speak of the devil" is something people say when someone appears just as you were talking about them. The full phrase is, "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear." But it doesn't mean you think the person who appeared is a bad person!
"It takes a village" is another example. The full phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child," means raising children is easier with help from others. It can also be used to talk about teamwork or group tasks.
"If you can't stand the heat" comes from, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." This means if something is difficult or stressful, you should either deal with it or stop complaining and leave!
Anapodotons may be short, but they have a lot of meaning!
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