A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but they also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a form of syllepsis. A syllepsis is a construction in which a word has two different meanings when applied to each of the word. As in "He lost his coat and his temper."

1. If I agree with you we would both be wrong.
2. Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it into a fruit salad.
3. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
4. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.
5. Where there is a will, I want to be on it.
6. We never grow up; we only learn how to act in public.
7. You don't need a parachute to skydive, but you do need one to skydive twice.
8. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it's harder and harder to find one now.
9. Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.
10. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
11. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
12. Build it and they will complain.