Question: I am wondering if there is any name, or well-known example, for a humoristic construct that I particularly enjoy. It is exemplified in this monolog from [Pierre Desproges](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Desproges), directed at a woman he was interviewing for a radio off:

> 
> Lady, you're a beautiful flower — can I call you a flower? [...]  
> 
> *(later in the interview)* You're a cute white cloud in blue summer sky — can I call you a white cloud?  
> 
> *(some more such lines throughout his monolog, you get the idea)*  
> 
> *(and it ends with:)* You're gorgeous as a cab — can I call you a cab?
> 
> 
> 

I'm not even sure there is a specific term for this build-up and final twist. It's sort of related to a syllepsis (which would be *can I call you beautiful and a cab?*), but delayed in time. Is there a name for this construct? Do you know of famous examples in English?

(I do apologise because translation of humor is necessarily weak, and is not my forte. I do it because I don't know any good example in English.)

Answer: 
Your illustrations could be examples of [anacoluthon](http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/anacoluthonterm.htm), "an abrupt change in a sentence from one construction to another which is grammatically inconsistent with the first"; or under the more general classification of metanoia, which is the breaking off of a sentence in the middle to correct oneself. In your examples, the speaker has apparently realized he may have exceeded the bounds of propriety by assuming too much in his flattery; he then backs off and requests permission to be so familiar. Calling this metanoia tests the boundaries of the definition a bit, but I don't see why breaking off to ask a question should be out of bounds.
In comedy writing, the construction is known under the larger grouping of the “the rule of three” in that such jokes require three items, the third of which twists the meaning of the list in a humorous way (in this example, the double meaning of the word *call* is twisted). Other examples include sitcoms lines like:

*Character*: Can I get you something from the store? Advil, water, a new boyfriend?