hysteron proteron

"Hysteron proteron" is a rhetorical device used to emphasize or create a specific effect by reversing the natural order of elements in a sentence.

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Definition

(technical, academic)A figure of speech where the usual sequence of words or events is inverted.

Saying 'putting on my shoes and socks' instead of 'putting on my socks and shoes' is an example of hysteron proteron.

(academic, formal)A literary technique where the natural order of ideas or events is presented in reverse.

In the sentence 'I am going to murder him, and then I'm going to make him give me back my laptop,' the sequence is reversed for dramatic effect.