One pattern I find interesting is using a word in an explicit double sense, leading to a self-reference kind of pun. For example:
As is the case with such things, however, military intelligence wasn't. [From example of oxymoron]
Stupidity is. [Emphasis]
Tool: implements for work that don't. [From TMRC]
I invite you to verify that these facts are.
This sort of usage is playful, but not standard usage. Yet, they express something in both a more interesting and perhaps more meaningful way: by combining the meanings into one sentence, the juxtaposition seems more obvious to me.
My questions are:
- Does this sort of construction have a name?
- What typographical conventions would you recommend for its use?
With regard to question 2., there are conflicting views that I would like addressed specifically.
On the one hand, we want clarity--and since writing is about expression, one might try to make the example reflect speech:
I invite you to verify that these facts . . . are.
I invite you to verify that these facts are.
This also helps ensure that the sentence is not mistaken for a mistake and the double meaning lost. It also helps prevent the wording from tripping up or being entirely missed by the casual reader.
My last example in particular demonstrates this last concern well: a native speaker expects an adjectival phrase. E.g. ". . . these facts are correct." However, when that doesn't occur, the reader runs into the full stop like a brick wall.
This is why, on the other hand, I feel like lack of specific attention could actually be a Good Thing.
The parse failure the reader undergoes when reading the original sentence forces them to reevaluate the entire thing, which is closer to the original goal of imparting two meanings. If careless readers' lack of attention causes them to overlook the subtlety, then perhaps they wouldn't have appreciated the nuance anyway.