«Each man in the squadron carried, along with a sea chest, his own burdensome story.»
David Grann, The Wager. A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, New York, Doubleday, 2023, xiii/329 p., p. 9.
(Une définition du zeugme ? Par là.)
Quarantième article d’un dictionnaire personnel de rhétorique
Implicite
Définition
«Qui est virtuellement contenu dans une proposition, un fait, sans être formellement exprimé, et peut en être tiré par déduction, induction» (le Petit Robert, édition numérique de 2018).
Exemple
[Mike Carney et Pepper se connaissent depuis des décennies. Ce ne sont pas ce qu’on appelle des honnêtes gens. Ils discutent — façon de parler — d’une entreprise criminelle : «Pull this setup downtown, you make a killing» (p. 249). Leurs échanges seront succincts, mais parfaitement compréhensibles, du moins pour eux : quatre mots suffiront. Le narrateur, lui, doit venir au secours de ses lecteurs.]
«“Yeah,” Big Mike said. Meaning, this was a waste of good scheme, as Harlem’s jewelry vendors didn’t carry the same volume of high-quality stones as a Madison or Lexington joint like Spears Winthrop or Edgeworth Jewels.
“But,” Pepper added, which was all he had to say to communicate that working downtown had its own complications. Dispatching three — four ? they didn’t know how many places Uncle Rich was hitting tonight — black crews below the Ninety-sixth Street Mason-Dixon line increased the possibility of police interference.
“Though,” Big Mike said, to indicate that Bulldog’s response to a Harlem client was not the same they’d give to a downtown client. Anytime racism helped the rip-off logistics, it was like God was giving him His blessing.
“Sure,” Pepper said. As in, tonight’s setup was tonight’s setup and they’d take what they could get» (Colson Whitehead, Crook Manifesto, p. 249-250).
[Yeah, But, Though, Sure : tout est dit, pour qui se comprend à demi-mot.]
Référence
Whitehead, Colson, Crook Manifesto. A Novel, New York, Doubleday, 2023, 319 p.
Portrait coloré du jour
«The flamboyant quotient in Harlem was at a record high these days [au début des années 1970], thanks to manufacturing innovations in the synthetic-material sector, new liberal opinions vis-à-vis the hues question, and the courageousness of the younger generation. The line between the stylish and pimpified was unstable, ill-defined, but everybody was having too much fun to complain. The men on the corner were pimps, no doubt, given the warm night and the superfluous layers. The taller one wore a purple suit with silver piping, and a white, spangled broad-brimmed hat. His companion’s long black leather trench coat draped on his shoulders like a cape. The tiger-fur pattern on his shirt and red, white, and blue cowboy hat created a macabre circus effect.»
Colson Whitehead, Crook Manifesto. A Novel, New York, Doubleday, 2023, 319 p., p. 73.
Accouplements 224
(Accouplements : une rubrique où l’Oreille tendue s’amuse à mettre en vis-à-vis deux œuvres, ou plus, d’horizons éloignés.)
Où construire ?
Kerangal, Mailys de, Naissance d’un pont, Paris, Gallimard, coll. «Folio», 5339, 2020, 336 p. Édition numérique. Édition originale : 2010.
«À Dubaï donc, le ciel est solide, massif : de la terre à bâtir.»
Whitehead, Colson, Crook Manifesto. A Novel, New York, Doubleday, 2023, 319 p.
«You can run out of land but not sky» (p. 33).
Portrait cruel du jour
«A few stagnant years went by, during which he made halfhearted attempts at starting different collections (coins, china, friends), dabbled in hypochondria, tried to develop an enthusiasm for horses, and failed to become a dandy.»
Hernan Diaz, Trust, New York, Riverhead Books, 2023, 402 p., p. 12. Édition originale : 2022.
P.-S.—En effet : «pièces, porcelaine, amis», ça sonne un peu comme un zeugme.