So Be Good for Goodness’ Sake

Quote:  “This is Santa Claus negotiating.” George Perkovich of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in the Washington Post.

Figure of Speech:  periphrasis (pa-RIH-phra-sis), the figure that swaps a description with a proper noun, or vice versa.

The U.S. and India just concluded a deal that lets the world’s largest democracy ignore the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and build fast-breeder reactors. Two of them will be free to make nuclear weapons without UN inspection.  The Carnegie Endowment’s veep for studies registers his dismay with a periphrasis (“to declare around”).

We invaded Iraq in pursuit of non-existent weapons of mass destruction, because Iraq was bad; we’re helping India make nukes because India is good. The logic is nothing new. We used it during the Cold War when we supported Osama bin Laden.

Snappy Answer:  “Indians don’t believe in Santa, so they’re going to Hell anyway.”

Comments

[a. vrolijk]

This is Santa Claus negotiating.
Why not an antonomasia?

[Figaro]

It could be either an antonomasia or a periphrasis; the figures are close, though periphrasis is used more often for euphemistic purposes. Truth be known, I might have tagged Bush with an antonomasia had I not referred to it so recently.
Fig.

[Shamoo]

"The man who served as the no. 2 official in Saddam Hussein's air force says Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the war by loading the weapons into civilian aircraft in which the passenger seats were removed."
READ the whole news story @ http://www.nysun.com/article/26514

[JMack]

Shamoo:
Although I am far more interested in the discussion of rhetoric, I am a bit skeptical of the claims Georges Sada is making when he is selling a book.