an interactive glossary for figures of speech
Adynaton
Adynaton: the impossibly impossible. Pronounced: add uh NAY ton. An exaggeration to say something is impossible or roundabout way of saying ‘no.’
1 Getting a straight answer from her is like squeezing blood from a stone.
2 There isn’t a snowball’s chance in summer that I will vote for him again.
3 If this isn’t the best pizza, then pigs fly through round squares.
Anacoluthon
Anacoluthon: derailed train of thought. Pronounced: anna kuh LOO thun. A sentence interrupted, as if skipping ahead or losing the train of thought.
1 This was our first time in Paris—the Tower, you have to see the Tower.
2 Milk does a body good—spring water, now there’s a refreshing drink.
3 Rallies, we had so many rallies—the election had to be rigged.
Anadiplosis
Anadiplosis: last phrase first. Pronounced: anna die PLŌ sis. Repeating the last word of one phrase as the first word of the next.
1 Education leads to ideas; ideas lead to opportunity.
2 Coco had a problem and that problem wore size 13 shoes.
3 I will be there for you, for you are always there for me.
Antanaclasis
Antanaclasis: reflection. Pronounced: ant uh KNACK luh sis. A type of pun in which a word or phrase is repeated in a different sense.
1 Even when we’re apart, you’re still a part of me.
2 Do you live by the sweat of your brow? No sir, I live by the old train tracks.
3 If you aren’t with us [in agreement], you won’t be with us [in membership].
Antimeria
Antimeria: one part used for another. Pronounced: aunty MARRY uh. Using one part of speech as another, often a noun as a verb.
1 Text me when you arrive [noun ‘text’ used as a verb].
2 The lawyer hammered home the point [hammer].
3 Slowing, the trucker schooled the taxi about safe distance [schooled]. She closely eyeballed the diamond ring.
Antiprosopopoeia
Antiprosopopoeia: objectification. Pronounced: aunty pro so poe PEE uh. Comparing a person to an inanimate object.
1 The new recruit is enthusiastic, a real firecracker.
2 She made him her personal doormat despite his apology.
3 The ice cube stamped our loan: denied.
Antonomasia
Antonomasia: name instead of. Pronounced: an toe no MAZE ya. A type of metonymy using an epithet or phrase in lieu of a proper name.
1 I’m no Einstein, but pretty sure that play was written by The Bard.
2 The Lady with the Lamp, Florence Nightingale, was a pioneer in the field of nursing.
3 She found Mr Right on her first date and they’ve been together since.
Aposiopesis
Aposiopesis: left unsaid. Pronounced: app poe sigh oh PEE sis. Leaving a thought incomplete or a sudden break for emphatic effect.
1 I’m warning you, if you don’t stop now …
2 What she said in reply—oh my, it’s not proper to mention.
3 The answer …, that’s to say …, well, everybody knows ….
Asterismos
Asterismos: star-filled speech. Pronounced: aster IS mos. Introducing a topic with unnecessary words as a way of drawing attention.
1 Well now, we will have to agree to disagree.
2 And behold, it turned out as I predicted.
3 Hey, come on, wait up. Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Okay, here goes nothing.
4 Listen. You ready? I’m going to say this. Profound is a language. Not a style, it has style, tremendous style.
Asyndeton
Asyndeton: unconnected clauses. Pronounced: uh SIN duh tawn. Deliberately omitting conjunctions between successive clauses.
1 The rocket broke free of gravity, of atmosphere, of earth itself.
2 To know you is to know your humour, your hurt, your heart.
3 We walked in the park, sat by the fountain, fell in love.
Chiasmus
Chiasmus: shaped like an X. Pronounced: ki AS mus. Reversal of word order to elaborate upon an idea.
1 We fashion our tools and, after, our tools fashion us.
2 She is capable; confidence and competence are evident in all her work.
3 Be kind to others on your way up so on your way down they may be kind to you.
4 Have you taught for 20 years or one year twenty times?
5 Age is not the years in your life, but the life in your years.
Diacope
Diacope: cutting in two. Pronounced: die ACK oh pee. A word or phrase repeated around an interjection.
1 Bond, James Bond.
2 Good boy, Rover, you’re a good boy.
Dysphemism
Dysphemism. Deliberate use of a more offensive phrase.
1 Junk food.
2 Referring to someone as a pig or rat.
Euphemism
Euphemism: A phrase used in lieu of one more offensive or embarrassing.
1 Call of nature.
2 Bought the farm.
3 Feeling under the weather.
Eutrepismus
Eutrepismus: ordered list. Pronounced: you TREP is muss. Numbering or putting items considered in order.
1 The seven stages of ages are spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills.
2 In the morning we walk on four, at noon on two, and in the evening on three.
3 Begin with wonder, add patience, remove presumption, increase with exploration and share the result of understanding.
Expeditio
Expeditio is similar to a disjunctive syllogism. Listing alternatives, then eliminating all but one of them.
1 I could ignore the rudeness, I could leave, or I could speak up about it; only the third option left no victim.
1 The high road’s hills and vales; the low road’s twists and turns; but no ride offered more than biking to her door.
1 We can dance our way, or sleep our way, or have our way until we arrive.
Figure of Speech
Non-literal use of a word or phrase for rhetorical purposes. The following is not an exhaustive list.
Hendiadys
Hendiadys: using two to mean one. Pronounced: hen DEE uh dis. A conjunction of nouns in lieu of an adjective and noun.
1 On a nice and warm day.
2 There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that I will vote for him again.
3 If this isn’t the best pizza, then pigs fly through round squares.
Hypophora
Hypophora: ask and answer. Pronounced: high POE for uh. Asking and answering one’s own question, often to create curiosity or to direct attention. Technically, hypophora is the question; anthyphophora is the answer.
1 Was it a good idea? Maybe not in hindsight, but hindsight is 20/20.
2 What will my opponent do? Too much for some; not enough for most.
3 Will we try? Yes. Will we succeed? Yes. When do we begin? Now.
Hypotaxis
Hypotaxis: evolving expository. Pronounced: high poe TACK sis. Clauses successively linked to show an evolution of ideas.
1 Our shop sells bikes, but not the kind that need a license, often insurance as well, and while motorized, all electric, ours need no more than a helmet.
2 We put up a tent against the rain, which delayed crossing the ravine, which is probably for the best as it washed out and might have taken us with it.
Merism
Merism: naming by extremes. Pronounced: MARE ism. Naming the parts as a way of referring to the whole.
1 The factory runs day and night [ = all the time].
2 The hills and vales of human values [ = all degrees of morality].
3 Beyond expectation and exception [ = more than one could want].
Metonymy
Metonymy: vivid description. Pronounced: muh TAWN uh me. Referring to an associated idea that is more vivid or concrete.
1 She passed the bar [= is licensed to practice law].
2 This is crown property [= owned by the government or monarch].
3 They went Greek for school [= live in a college fraternity or sorority].
Parataxis
Parataxis: short and simple. Pronounced: pair uh TACK sis. A sequence of short, simple sentences.
1 I put my coat. I opened the umbrella and I walked in the rain.
2 The lion circled. The crowd hushed. The ringmaster held up a hoop.
3 She screamed. He ran. The muzzle flashed. He fell. Stood. Fell again.
Personification
Personification is describing inanimate objects as having human characteristics.
1 Opportunity knocks once; temptation leans on the doorbell.
2 My computer is sick; I think it has a virus.
3 The wind howled as the sun played hide-and-peek through the clouds.
Polyptoton
Polyptoton: repeated root word. Pronounced: paul lept TOE tawn. Words of the same root repeated in a different ways.
1 I hear a Herald of Angels.
2 There is no such thing as nothingness.
3 Pardon me for interrupting, but your client has been pardoned.
Polysyndeton
Polysyndeton: bound in many ways. Pronounced: polly SIN duh tawn. Inserting more conjunctions between successive clauses than is necessary.
1 The boat rose and sank and rose and sank in the wake of the ocean liner.
2 We ate and drank and laughed and left in we early hours of morning.
3 I could send it by text or by email or by fax or by courier or by post.
Synecdoche
Synecdoche: understood together. Pronounced: sin NECK ta key. Using a part or component to represent the whole.
1 All hands [= able-bodied people] on deck.
2 Can you drive a stick [= manual transmission]?
3 He has been hitting the bottle [= drinking alcohol to excess].
4 Rube Goldberg contraption [= an overly-complicated mechanism].
5 Do you take plastic [= payment by credit card]?
Tmesis
Tmesis: word splitting. Pronounced: tuh ME sis. A word or phrase separated into two parts, with one or more words between.
1 She is 2 years free from can-no-thank-you-cer.
2 Lemon zest adds a little ap-pucker-peal to the cake.
3 Arrest were made when order turned to dis-is-out-of-order.
4 De-lightfully-licious.
Zeugma
Zeugma: yoking words together. Pronounced: ZOOG muh. One word governing two or more words in different senses.
1 The thief took her jewellery and sense of security.
2 We build cars and trucks and a better world.
3 I watched with binoculars and disgust.
4 The storm sank my boat and my dreams.
5 Resolved to quit, he took his belongings and his leave.