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  By Jennifer Gunner, M.Ed. Education, Senior Writer A paraprosdokian is a sentence or statement with an unexpected ending. It means “against expectations” in Greek, and typically puts the first part of the sentence in a new and humorous context. Keep reading for examples of well-known paraprosdokians from comedy, literature, and music. Funny Paraprosdokian Sentence Examples Using these figures of speech in a joke, piece of writing, or a song can expertly twist your meaning. They keep an audience engaged and aware of a comedian’s ability with wordplay. When you start reading examples of paraprosdokians, you’ll find that they make up the punchline of some hilarious and sophisticated one liners! Paraprosdokians From Comedians Henny Youngman’s famous joke “Take my wife – please!” is perhaps the most well-known example of a paraprosdokian in comedy. You expect that he’s using his wife as an example for a joke, but then indicates he wants you to literally take her away by adding the punchli