What is a preterition?
To be sly, she is sly, this figure of speech which consists in saying that we will not talk about a thing, which we talk about all the same.
From the Latin
praeteritio
(omission), preterition is used both to highlight an idea or a fact to bring out its importance, to defuse possible objections, to affirm that one will not do something that the we will nevertheless… that is to say that this process is widely used.
"
I won't remind you that you owe me
", "
It's Mr. Martin, not to name him
", "
If I were mean, I'd tell you it was well done
", "
I don't I'm not competent to judge, but I think it's very bad
”, “
I don't want to depress you, but your situation seems tragic to me
”…
It's still in Brassens that I find the tastiest examples of preterition:
"Under the pretext of noise, under the guise of advertising, / Do I have the right to tarnish the honor of this lady / By shouting on the rooftops, and to the tune of the lanterns: / “Madame la marquis gave me crabs!”
(The Trumpets of Fame)
or “
The
sequel would be delightful, / Unfortunately, I can't / Can't say it, and it's unfortunate, / It would have made us laugh a little;
/ Because the judge, at the supreme moment, / Cried: “Mom!”, wept a lot, / Like the man whose neck, the same day, / He had had cut off
” (
The Gorilla
).
Excerpt from
Literary walk among the stylistic figures
.
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