Figures of Speech
A word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid effect
Rhetoric
Is the art of using speech to convince or persuade.
The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the exploitation of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.
Rhetorical question
With no expectation of having the audience answer his or her question audibly.
A rhetorical question is where the point of the question is to make a point rather than to get an answer.
Example - "How many times do I have to tell you to stop stealing my cookies?" (Rhetorical. The point of the question is to show I'm annoyed at you for stealing my cookie.)
Non-Rhetorical question
Would be a question posed by a speaker which requires some sort of response from an audience.
Example - "Where did you put my cookies?" (Non-rhetorical. I would like an answer as to where my cookie is.)
Common examples
Common expressions such as "falling in love," "racking our brains," and "climbing the ladder of success" are all metaphors - the most pervasive figure of all. Likewise, we rely on similes when making explicit comparisons ("light as a feather") and hyperbole to emphasize a point ("I'm starving!").
- Alliteration
- The repetition of an initial consonant sound.
She sells seashells by the seashore.
- the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
"the alliteration of 'sweet birds sang'"
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Anaphora: The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.Example:Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the wrong day.
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Antithesis: The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.Example: As Abraham Lincoln said, "Folks who have no vices have very few virtues."
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Apostrophe: Directly addressing a nonexistent person or an inanimate object as though it were a living being.Example:"Oh, you stupid car, you never work when I need you to," Bert sighed.
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Assonance: Identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.Example:How now, brown cow?
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Chiasmus: A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed.Example:The famous chef said people should live to eat, not eat to live.
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Euphemism: The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit.Example:"We're teaching our toddler how to go potty," Bob said.
Pre-ownedfor used or second-hand
enhanced interrogationfor torture
industrial actionfor strike
misspokefor lie
tactical withdrawalfor retreat
revenue augmentationfor raising taxes
windfor belch or fart
convenience feefor surcharge
courtesy reminderfor bill
unlawful combatant for prisoner of war
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Hyperbole: An extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effect.Example:I have a ton of things to do when I get home.
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Irony: The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. Also, astatement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea.
"Oh, I love spending big bucks," said my dad, a notorious penny pincher.
I find that ironic, that there is never a single singleton in a codebase, there is always zero or two or more.
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Litotes: A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.Example:A million dollars is no small chunk of change.
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Metaphor: An implied comparison between two dissimilar things that have something in common.
"All the world's a stage."
"when we speak of gene maps and gene mapping, we use a cartographic metaphor"
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Metonymy: A figure of speech in a word or phrase is substituted for another with which it's closely associated; also, the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things around it.Example:"That stuffed suit with the briefcase is a poor excuse for a salesman," the manager said angrily.
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Onomatopoeia: The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.Example:The clap of thunder went bang and scared my poor dog.
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Oxymoron: A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.Example:"He popped the jumbo shrimp in his mouth.", faith unfaithful kept him falsely true
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Paradox: A statement that appears to contradict itself.Example:"This is the beginning of the end," said Eeyore, always the pessimist.
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Personification: A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.Example:That kitchen knife will take a bite out of your hand if you don't handle it safely.
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Pun: A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.Example:Jessie looked up from her breakfast and said, "A boiled egg every morning is hard to beat."
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Simile: A stated comparison (usually formed with "like" or "as") between two fundamentally dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common.Example:Roberto was white as a sheet after he walked out of the horror movie.
quite like a mouse
as tall as a mountain
as strong as an ox
precious like an angel
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Synecdoche: A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole.Example:Tina is learning her ABC's in preschool.
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Understatement: A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.Example:"You could say Babe Ruth was a decent ballplayer," the reporter said with a wink.
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Foreshadowing: The literary deviceforeshadowingrefers to the use of words or phrases that set the stage for the story to unfold. It gives the reader a hint of something that is going to happen without revealing the story or spoiling the suspense.Foreshadowingis used to suggest an upcoming outcome to the story.
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Adage: Anadage is a concise, memorable, and usually philosophicalaphorism that communicates an important truth derived from experience, custom, or both, and that many people consider true and credible because of its longeval tradition, i.e. being handed down generation to generation, or memetic replication.
Ex: do not count your chickens before they hatch", "do not burn your bridges, "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging"
Analogy
Analogy is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject (the analog, or source) to another (the target), or a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process. In a narrower sense, analogy is an inference or an argument from one particular to another particular, as opposed to deduction, induction, and abduction, in which at least one of the premises, or the conclusion, is general rather than particular in nature. The term analogy can also refer to the relation between the source and the target themselves, which is often (though not always) a similarity, as in the biological notion of analogy.
False Analogy
- If two people have fever then both should have same disease
Blinkist - Language Intelligence by Joseph J Romm (14 July 2019)
- Short words are an effective rhetorical tool especially in politics
- Repetition is a good way of getting your point across - as the Bible illustrates
- Irony can be used to deflect the truth or to inconspicuously communicate a point
- Foreshadowing is a great rhetorical trick perfect for political speeches
- Metaphors are powerful figures of speech that mirror structures in the human brain
- Extended metaphors create such strong messages that political campaigns often revolve around them
- Rhetoric can be used for malicious purposes, to influence and manipulate
- Actionable advice: Analyse the information you receive
https://www.thoughtco.com/top-figures-of-speech-1691818
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-a-rhetorical-and-non-rhetorical-question
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetoric
Word Play
Word play is verbal wit: the manipulation of language(in particular, the sounds and meanings of words) with the intent to amuse. Also known as logology and verbal play.
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Antanaclasis "Your argument is sound, nothing but sound."- playing on the dual meaning of "sound" as a noun signifying something audible and as an adjective meaning "logical" or "well-reasoned." (Benjamin Franklin)
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Double Entendre "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."- playing on "drift" being a verb of motion as well as a noun denoting a snowbank. (Mae West)
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Malaphor "Senator McCain suggests that somehow, you know, I'm green behind the ears."- mixing two metaphors: "wet behind the ears" and "green," both of which signify inexperience. (Senator Barack Obama, Oct. 2008)
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Malapropism "Why not? Play captains against each other, create a little dysentery in the ranks."- using "dysentery" instead of the similar-sounding "dissent" to comic effect. (Christopher Moltisanti inThe Sopranos)
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Paronomasia and Puns
"Hanging is too good for a man who makespuns; he should be drawn and quoted."- riffing on the similarity of "quoted" to "quartered" as in "drawn and quartered." (Fred Allen)
"Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends."(credited to Tom Waits)
"Once you are dead you are dead. That last day idea. Knocking them all up out of their graves. Come forth, Lazarus! And he came fifth and lost the job." (James Joyce, Ulysses, 1922)
"I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun My last thread, I shall perish on the shore; But swear by Thyself, that at my death ThySon Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore; And having done that, Thou hastdone; I fear no more." (John Donne, "A Hymn to God the Father")
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Sniglet pupkus, the moist residue left on a window after a dog presses its nose to it. - a made-up word that sounds like "pup kiss," since no actual word for this exists.
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Syllepsis "When I address Fred I never have to raise either my voice or my hopes."- a figure of speech in which a singleword is applied to two others in two different senses (here, raising one's voice and raising one's hopes). (E.B. White, "Dog Training")
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Tongue Twisters "Chester chooses chestnuts, cheddar cheese with chewy chives. He chews them and he chooses them. He chooses them and he chews them. . . . those chestnuts, cheddar cheese and chives in cheery, charming chunks."- repetition of the "ch" sound.