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Zeugma
A well known of tricolon is in Julius Caesar. “Veni, vidi, vici.” (“I came, I saw, I
conquered”) Zeugma is a rhetorical device in which a word can apply to different parts of a sentence
giving different meanings.
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
(Benjamin Franklin) Examples:

“Be sincere, be brief, be seated.” “You are free to execute your laws and your citizens, as you see fit.”
(Franklin D. Roosevelt’s advice to speakers) (Star Wars)

“I require three things in a man. He must be handsome, ruthless and stupid.”
(Dorothy Parker)

“Friends, Romans, Countrymen . . .”
(Brutus’s speech in Julius Caesar)

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

“Father, Son and Holy Spirit”
(Bible)

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Location, location, location
(common real estate promotion)

Understatement

An understatement is a form of speech in which far less importance is given to someone
or something than should be given.

Examples:

Bradman could play cricket a bit.

“Our opinions may differ slightly on how we should handle this.” (When the opinions are
very different)

“I know a little about tax law.” (Statement from a prominent taxation lawyer)

“She is not such a bad looking girl.” (referring to a beautiful woman)

“That could have been handled better.”(Talking to someone who really stuffed
something up)