In this article one can find the following construct:
… To answer this question, it is … necessary to open a parenthesis.
( And then the author goes into some details. But he does not literally use any parenthesis as I do right here. )
So my question is — did the author invent this figure of speech, or does it exist in contemporary English ?
Upd. As FumbleFingers have mentioned below, Google Books search for "will open a parenthesis" shows the meaning "to be mentioned in parentheses" to be rather common for this expression.
The moral: there is not just Google, there are also Google Books. )
Best Answer
The OED defines parenthesis as:
This is the rethorical meaning of the word
parenthesis
. Because you often put a parenthesis between round brackets, the term is also used to indicate the bracket symbol()
. However, a parenthesis need not necessarily to be put in parentheses!Interestingly, the OED also lists the (obsolete) meaning of digression
So, it is clear that the expression "to open a parenthesis" is used to say: "I will now start to talk about something not completely related for a while, then come back to my previous subject".
As a side note: in Italian and French you can use aprire una parentesi or ouvrir une parenthèse (to open a parenthesis) as an idiomatic expression to indicate a digression.