Word of the Day

: March 30, 2015

amphibology

noun am-fuh-BAH-luh-jee

What It Means

: a sentence or phrase that can be interpreted in more than one way

amphibology in Context

Still feeling some of the effects of her recent cold, Tara was bemused by the amphibology on the café's menu: "Try our soup-you won't get better."

"I have started an amphibology collection: my favourite to date is the garage that advertises its services with the words: 'Why go anywhere else to be robbed?'" - Jonathan Ford, Financial Times, July 27, 2012

Did You Know?

A venerable old word in English, amphibology is from Greek amphibolos (via Late Latin and Latin). Amphibolos, from amphi- ("both") and ballein ("to throw"), literally means "encompassing" or "hitting at both ends"; figuratively it means "ambiguous." Amphibology is an equivocator's friend. An editor who has been sent an unsolicited manuscript to critique, for example, might reply, "I shall lose no time in reading your book." Or a dinner guest who feels the onset of heartburn might say something like, "Ah, that was a meal I shall not soon forget!" But amphibology’s ambiguity can be unintended and undesirable as well, as in "When Mom talked to Judy, she said she might call her back the next day." (Who said who might call whom back?)