Epitrope
Ironically granting permission or conceding a point, so that the concession damages the opponent.
Epitrope (Greek, 'a handing over') invites the audience or opponent to do or judge something, usually with the expectation that the invitation will expose them. 'Go on, then — tell them what you told me' is epitrope in ordinary speech.
Classical rhetoric distinguishes it from genuine concession because the surrender is tactical: the speaker yields ground they are confident cannot be held, or grants a licence they know will not survive examination.
It appears constantly in courtroom argument and in scripture — 'Let him who is without sin cast the first stone' is epitrope of the purest kind, granting permission that no listener can accept.
Common mistake: using it where the audience might simply take you up on the offer. Epitrope only works when the invitation is unanswerable; otherwise you have conceded for real.
“Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone.”
Keep reading the glossary
The device of raising a subject by explicitly refusing to raise it — 'I will not mention…'
A rhetorical figure in which a speaker names something while claiming not to mention it — the 'not to mention' move.
Conceding a weaker point in order to strengthen the main one.
A gap between what is said and what is meant — or between expectation and outcome.