Word for the day: anapodoton

"An anapodoton (from Ancient Greek ἀναπόδοτον anapódoton: "that which lacks an apodosis, that is, the consequential clause in a conditional sentence), plural anapodota, is a rhetorical device related to the anacoluthon; both involve a thought being interrupted or discontinued before it is fully expressed. It is a figure of speech or discourse that is an incomplete sentence, consisting of a subject or complement without the requisite object. The stand-alone subordinate clause suggests or implies a subject (a main clause), but this is not actually provided.

As an intentional rhetorical device, it is generally used for set phrases, where the full form is understood, and would thus be tedious to spell out, as in "When in Rome [do as the Romans]."

Though grammatically incorrect, anapodoton is a commonplace feature of everyday informal speech. It, therefore, appears frequently in dramatic writing and in fiction in the form of direct speech or the representation of stream of consciousness.

Examples:

"If you think I'm going to sit here and take your insults..."

(implied: "then you are mistaken")

"When life gives you lemons..."

(implied: "you make lemonade")

"If they came to hear me beg..."

(implied: "then they will be disappointed")

"When the going gets tough..."

(implied: "the tough get going")

"If you can’t stand the heat..."

(implied: "get out of the kitchen")

"Birds of a feather..."

(implied: "flock together")

Apologies to Wikipedia for excerpting virtually the entire article (thus not truly "excerpting"...)