aposiopesis

Aposiopesis (; Classical Greek: ἀποσιώπησις, "becoming silent") is a figure of speech wherein a sentence is deliberately broken off and left unfinished, the ending to be supplied by the imagination, giving an impression of unwillingness or inability to continue. An example would be the threat "Get out, or else—!" This device often portrays its users as overcome with passion (fear, anger, excitement) or modesty. To mark the occurrence of aposiopesis with punctuation, an em-rule (—) or an ellipsis (...) may be used.

== Examples == One classical example of aposiopesis in Virgil occurs in Aeneid 1.135. Neptune, the Roman god of the Sea, is angry with the winds, whom Juno released to start a storm and harass the Trojan hero and protagonist Aeneas. Neptune berates the winds for causing a storm without his approval, but breaks himself off mid-threat: {| class="wikitable" |+ Aeneid 1.132-141 |- ! Latin !! English |- | Iam caelum terramque meō sine nūmine, ventī, miscēre et tantās audētis tollere mōlēs? quōs ego—sed mōtōs praestat compōnere flūctūs. || Now, winds, you dare to embroil the sky and the earth without my approval, and raise up such a mass? You whom, I—! But it is better to settle the agitated waves.