LessonsʿIlm al-Badīʿ: Semantic Embellishments, Part IQuiz

Laff wa-nashr omits a repeated statement of who belongs with which attribute, but the omission works only when contextual association makes the correct matches sufficiently clear.

In the night-and-day example, the common relations of rest to night and livelihood to day allow the listener to pair the later purposes without restating the times.

Where several pairings remain equally plausible and no clue decides between them, the result is ambiguity rather than effective economy. The figure depends on confidence in the listener’s understanding.

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Why the omitted pairing can remain clear

ʿIlm al-Badīʿ: Semantic Embellishments, Part I

Laff wa-nashr omits a repeated statement of who belongs with which attribute, but the omission works only when contextual association makes the correct matches sufficiently clear.

In the night-and-day example, the common relations of rest to night and livelihood to day allow the listener to pair the later purposes without restating the times.

Where several pairings remain equally plausible and no clue decides between them, the result is ambiguity rather than effective economy. The figure depends on confidence in the listener’s understanding.