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figures of speech - "I'm happy to see that you are sober as a judge" Is this a rhetorical device?


Context: A few decades ago, during the electoral campaign for governor, there was a televised debate between the three major parties candidates. Candidate A, the favorite according to the polls, was notorious for heavy drinking and rumor had it that he had become a real alcoholic. The three candidates arrived at the studio and when Candidate C shook hands with Candidate A he said: It's a great pleasure to meet you, Mr A, and "I'm happy to see that you are sober as a judge". Candidate A simply smiled and said "Thank you", perhaps hoping it had gone unnoticed.


First I thought this might be a figure of speech like "Ad hominem, poisoning the well". Then again, it doesn't look or sound like a figure of speech. Is it a rhetorical device? What kind? Is there a term for it?



Answer



It might be paralipsis:



Stating and drawing attention to something in the very act of pretending to pass it over. A kind of irony. (From the Silva Rhetoricae website at Brigham Young University)



I say "might", because it's a term I only recently came across, and the remark in your question is more oblique than the example on the page I linked to (which, as it happens, also involves accusing a politician of drinking). But the intention is clearly the same, and on the Wikipedia page for paralipsis (which redirects to apophasis), another example is given in which Ronald Reagan implies something about a political opponent in a similarly oblique manner:



When asked about the allegations that Dukakis had received psychological treatment in the past, Reagan responded by saying with a smile, "Look, I’m not going to pick on an invalid". (Wikipedia)



If that is indeed paralipsis/apophasis, then I would say that, in this context, "I'm happy to see that you are sober as a judge" is too.


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