Amphiboly
Greek for "indeterminate"
Different than Equivocation, this Fallacy of Ambiguity, Amphiboly, relies on ambiguous grammatical constructs. Placing words where they can be used as multiple or interchangeable parts of speech can lead to confusion.Â
Often, Amphiboly is used accidentally; however, it can be used to create intentional confusion or even humorous, cheeky quips.Â
Dangling or Misplaced Modifiers that confuse logic can be considered Amphiboly.Â
Examples!
Even More Written Examples:
"Save soap and waste paper."
Is "waste" a verb or an adjective? Are we being instructed to conserve soap and paper or are we being instructed to conserve soap but recklessly throw away paper?
"I once shot an elephant in my pajamas." (Groucho Marx in Animal Crackers)
Was the elephant physically in Groucho's pajamas or was Groucho wearing pajamas when he shot the elephant?
"This morning, I have been doing a little light housekeeping."
This is really just a verbal amphiboly. In writing, the meaning is clear. Hearing the line spoken without seeing it, however, could lead to the listener mistakenly hearing: "This morning, I have been doing a little lighthouse keeping." Sounds the same... it's not the same.
"If we engage in war with Canada, we'll destroy a great empire."
The "great empire" being referred to is ambiguous... is it Canada or the United States? 🤔