A rhetorical device in which someone feigns refusal or modesty to provoke further persuasion; playing hard to get.
From Greek 'akkismos' meaning 'refusing,' likely from 'akis' (point or barb). A specialized term in rhetoric inherited from classical grammar.
Ancient Roman orators had a technical term for what we call 'playing hard to get'—when someone says 'no, I couldn't possibly' hoping you'll insist, they're using accismus, and rhetoricians studied it as seriously as modern marketers study persuasion.
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