Talk:Catachresis
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I think this is more an example of definitions shifting over time than of a deliberate out-of-context use of the word "nimrod". I've added examples for two of the senses from Shakespeare. The other two remain as yet unexampled... --Ptomato 02:05, 4 Jan 2005 (UTC)
+ I met a girl from San Francisco who talked about a venue having a "righteous" sound-system, which seems a good example as it yokes together concepts usually distinct (virtue & party). But doesn't a huge amount of fiction rely on catachresis anyway? Eliot's admonition to "dislocate language into meaning" instructs writers to harness words in new ways to avoid sterile repetition and vivify meaning. [User: Benek]
Leave Shakespeare alone! Rintrah 02:10, 14 July 2005 (UTC)
Would one of my favourite quotes from Futurama be a good example of catachresis: "If we can hit the bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards... Checkmate." - Zapp Branigan
My dictionary says examples of a catachresis would be crayfish, and causeway.
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[edit] The Hamlet quotation
To take arms against a sea of troubles is likely a deliberate catachresis, or perhaps not even one at all: Hamlet is talking about futility. Faced with a sea of troubles, taking up a sword and shield is not going to have an effect on the wave that's about to hit you, and the character knows this. It's a straightforward metaphor (not even a mixed metaphor) disguised as a catachresis, I feel. UrbaneLegend 13:25, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Irony and ironic
This word is misused alot. Should we include this word? Like in Alannis Morrisette's Isn't It Ironic, most things she mentions isn't ironic at all. ie. Rain on your wedding day, It's a black fly in your Chardonnay, It's a free ride when you've already paid, It's the good advice that you just didn't take Azn Clayjar 04:31, 6 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Shakespeare
Doesn't the article imply that Shakespeare is misusing language? Rintrah 15:20, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Superlatives
One frequently encounters misuse of superlatives, e.g., "most unique", "fairly unique", "sort of dead", etc. Shouldn't at least one of these be included in the article as an example of catachresis? —QuicksilverT @ 22:16, 13 September 2006 (UTC)
