The ζεύγμα game

[Thomas]

That caught your eye, didn't it!

A ζεύγμα - or zeugma, also known as a syllepsis, is a figure of speech describing the joining of two or more parts of a sentence with a single common verb or noun (wikipedia)

For a bit of fun, try thinking up some clunky ones like:

He put out his cigarette and the cat before going to bed.

He killed time and one of the security guards at the museum.

[Jem]

She lowered her eyes and her standards and accepted his proposal of marriage.

[Maria Mac]

He's running a fever and a half marathon today.

[kbell]

She raised her glass, her skirt, a laugh and everyone's spirits with her acceptance speech.

[Fia]

He lowered his esteem with his trousers when he mooned.

[Maria Mac]

That Italian barman in the nightclub pulled a pint, a fast one and my boyfriend last night.

[jaywhat]

I just stopped talking because he had switched identities and off.

[Jem]

I pulled a hamstring, a face and my mother's leg today.

[Firebrand]

He rubbed his eyes and me up the wrong way.

[kbell]

I made up my mind, my face, a story for my kids and with my ex-boyfriend this evening.

[Noggin]

I broke the hostess's nose and the ice when I lost control of the cricket balls I was juggling for my party piece.

[Diane]

I run an IT company and five miles a day.

[DougS]

He broke my heart, my spirit and the world record when he beat me in the egg and spoon race.

[Jem]

I threw the towel in, a cathartic tantrum and, finally, a party when the judge found for the plaintiff.

[Bryn]

The judge tried the case, to stifle a yawn and the patience of the prosecuting counsel.

[Alan C.]

Frank got the last round in, and the joke, and then a taxi home.

[Bryn]

He managed to score twice, wave to the crowd, break the opposition's hearts and an IT company in his spare time.

[Thomas]

Great answers! Sorry I haven't found time to return to this for a while.


He blew a kiss to the attractive traffic warden, a tyre, his top, and his chances of making any money that day.

[Emma Woolgatherer]

(I like this one, so I'm having a go, even if it's unrevivable ...)

After a night on the tiles, Sven took the N28 to Wandsworth and three aspirins.

[Maria Mac]

He pulled a cunning stunt and a ligament when he burst out of that birthday cake.