When You Don’t Finish What You… You Have Anapodotons

If you start the phrase when in Rome… but don’t finish the sentence with do as the Romans do, or say birds of a feather… without adding flock together, you’re engaging in anapodoton, a term of rhetoric that refers to the act of saying only the first part of a proverb or common saying, because you assume your listener will mentally finish the rest. Anapodoton comes from the Greek word anapodosis, meaning “without a main clause.” Anapodota appear in many languages besides English, including Japanese and Chinese. This is part of a complete episode.