SNOWBALL (RHOPALIC) SENTENCES

Dmitri Borgmann 

A sentence beginning with a 1-letter word, followed by a 2-letter word, followed by a 3- letter word, and so on is called a snowball or, technically, a rhopalic sentence. Three examples are shown below.

 

I am now very happy.

I do not know where family doctors acquired illegibly perplexing handwriting.

I am not very happy acting pleased whenever prominent scientists overmagnify intellectual enlightenment.

Like palindromic phrases and sentences, rhopalic sentences necessarily get very awkward in terms of making sense. For example, here is a continuation of the second sentence, extending all the way to a 20-letter word.

I do not know where family doctors acquired illegibly perplexing handwriting; nevertheless, extraordinary pharmaceutical intellectuality, counterbalancing indecipherability, transcendentalizes intercommunications' incomprehensibleness

 

Rhopalic sentences also include those in which each successive word gets longer by one syllable or metrical foot.