"...like you need a ride..."

[Frank Antonson]

I was paying little attention to a movie that my wife was watching, but then I heard and noticed an example of what I think is called zeugma.

A character was saying to a hitchhiker that she and her husband had picked up that "You look like...(and the viewers expected "our son"). But, instead, she said "You look like (after a pause) you need a ride".

How to diagram the second choice?

Any ideas? Treat is as "You appear as if you need a ride" vs "You appear as if you were our son"? Does "like" have to be a conjunction vs a preposition here?

In any case, I found it a clever bit of writing.

[TheParser]

I was paying little attention to a movie that my wife was watching, but then I heard and noticed an example of what I think is called zeugma.

A character was saying to a hitchhiker that she and her husband had picked up that "You look like...(and the viewers expected "our son"). But, instead, she said "You look like (after a pause) you need a ride".

How to diagram the second choice?

Any ideas? Treat is as "You appear as if you need a ride" vs "You appear as if you were our son"? Does "like" have to be a conjunction vs a preposition here?

In any case, I found it a clever bit of writing.

"You look as if you were sick."

I learned that "as if" is short for:

You look as [you would look] if you were sick.

So "You look as if/like you needed a ride." I guess we're dealing with

a conjunction.


James

[Frank Antonson]

Makes sense.

I have been away for a while, but I hope to do better.

Frank