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42 * ERRORS VS. RHETORICAL DEVICES by Don L. F. Nilsen 42 * Ambiguity is bad. Puns, double entendre and paranomasia are good. 42 42 * DOUBLE ENTENDRE The playwright Oscar Hammerstein, who used to work in a cigar factory, said that a play is like a cigar. ?If it?s good, everybody wants a box, and if it?s bad, no amount of puffing will make it draw.? (Nilsen 99) 42 42 * Cliches and trite expressions are bad. But idiomatic expressions are good. 42 42 * IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS ?Even though you are not an acrobat or an infant, you can `put your foot in your mouth.? If someone `has two left feet,? we do not order special shoes. When someone `kicks the bucket? we are more likely to head for the funeral home than for the mop closet.? (Lindfors 55) 42 42 *
