Lynn

What is the term for the linguistic trick in which you make a statement while claiming you're not making it? For example: "I'm not saying that my respected opponent is a lying two-faced weasel with the morals of a tomcat." Leaves you with a clear picture of the opponent's unfitness for existence while (technically) saying just the opposite.

I've heard the name of this particular sly verbal game, but I can't call it to mind.

At the state government office where I work, they have a strange style standard I've never seen before. They require that if a line of copy ends in a small word (two letters or less), it must be forced to the next line. That is, this text --

Now is the time for all good men to

come to the aid of their party.

-- would have to be changed to this --

Now is the time for all good men

to come to the aid of their party.

Has anyone else seen that? If it's a standard somewhere else, can you tell me the reasoning behind it? The only answer I get from this end is along the lines of, "Because that's the way we do it," which is no reason at all.