Non Sequitur (logic) - Non Sequitur in Everyday Speech

Non Sequitur in Everyday Speech

See also: Derailment (thought disorder)

In everyday speech, a non sequitur is a statement in which the final part is totally unrelated to the first part, for example:

Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die. —West with the Night, Beryl Markham

It can also refer to a response that is totally unrelated to the original statement or question:

Mary: I wonder how Mrs. Knowles next door is doing.
Jim: Did you hear that the convenience store two blocks over got robbed last night? Thieves got away with a small fortune.

Read more about this topic:  Non Sequitur (logic)

Famous quotes containing the words everyday and/or speech:

    “... You could sit there with the stains on your shoes
    Of the fresh earth from your own baby’s grave
    And talk about your everyday concerns.
    You had stood the spade up against the wall
    Outside there in the entry, for I saw it.”
    Robert Frost (1874–1963)

    It is clear that not in one thing alone, but in many ways equality and freedom of speech are a good thing.
    Herodotus (c. 484–424 B.C.)