近年有人将此句法的英文手法译为矛盾语或矛盾句法,是一种修辞手段,即将两个相互矛盾的语汇组合在一起。它们出现在各种情况下,从无意的错误,如非常平均,到故意的双关语“相同的不同”,等等。矛盾语最常见的形式为“形容词-名词”的组合。例如阿佛烈·丁尼生的《国王牧歌》有如下两个矛盾语:"And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true."另一种形式为“名词-动词”如纳坦·奥尔特曼《夏夜》中的"The silence whistles".
英语百科
Oxymoron 矛盾语
(重定向自Plastic silverware)
An oxymoron (usual plural oxymorons, less commonly the Greek-style oxymora) is a figure of speech that juxtaposes elements that appear to be contradictory. Oxymorons appear in a variety of contexts, including inadvertent errors (such as "ground pilot") and literary oxymorons crafted to reveal a paradox.