Amphiboly (Noun)
Meaning
An ambiguous grammatical construction; e.g., `they are flying planes' can mean either that someone is flying planes or that something is flying planes.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The court dismissed the case due to amphiboly in the indictment, which made it unclear who was being accused.
- Visiting relatives can be confusing because the phrase sometimes means that relatives are visiting, and sometimes it means we are visiting them.
- The new airline ad was criticized for its amphiboly, as it was unclear whether the company was offering plane 'savers' or saving planes.
- After re-reading the contract multiple times, they still couldn't resolve the issue due to the amphiboly in one of the key clauses.
- The company's slogan 'We're rolling out the red carpet for you' was criticized for its amphiboly, as some people wondered if the carpet or the company itself was being rolled out.