# Hendiadys
An idea presented by two different words, links with *and*, like "nice and warm" instead of "nicely warm." Modification of a Greek phrase meaning "one through two."[^1] It's different than [[Merism]] because these two words are not opposites, but rather like adjectives to one another.
Mark Forsyth says this device creates ambiguity. Is Hamlet's "book and volume" a voluminous book or a bookish volume?[^2]
Examples include:
- "It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing." —Shakespeare, *Macbeth*
- "Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you." —Leonard Cohen
[^1]: [Hendiadys Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hendiadys)
[^2]: [[The Elements of Eloquence]] pg. 89