terminology - Is there a term for it when you use an obviously false statement to highlight the falsity or absurdity of another?


For example, person A states something. Person B says "And pigs fly" to imply person A was wrong.


If there's no term for it, what could you call that that sounds smart?



Answer



This is diasyrmus, which, according to the Silva Rhetoricae definition is "[r]ejecting an argument through ridiculous comparison."


In this case the comparison is implied: person A's statement is as false or absurd as the notion of flying pigs.


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