AP ENGLISH 51- 75 Flashcards
Hypothetical Question
a question that raises a hypothesis,
conjecture, or suggestion
Ex:
“Here is my cell phone. How would you sell it to me?”
If you had a million dollars, what would you do first?
Idiom
An expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words in the expression
Ex.
Hit the bull’s eye
Hat trick
The buck stops here
Imagery
The use of figures of speech to create vivid images that appeal to one of the senses
Implication
A suggestion an author or speaker makes (implies) without stating it directly.
Note: The author/Speaker [implies]; the reader [infers]
Inductive Reasoning
Deriving general principles from particular fact or interests
EX. Every cat I have seen has four-legs; cats are four-legged anmal
Inference
a conclusion one draws (infers) based on premises or
evidence
Invective
an intensely vehement, highly emotional verbal attack
Irony
the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning;
or, incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs (expectation vs reality)
Jargon
the specialized language or vocabulary of a particular group or
profession
Juxtaposition
placing two elements side by side to present a comparison or contrast
Legend
a narrative handed down from the past, containing historical
elements and usually supernatural elements
Litotes
a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite
Examples:
(describing a particularly horrific scene by saying, “It was not a pretty picture.”
“Are you also aware, Mrs. Bueller, that Ferris does not have what we consider to be an exemplary attendance record?”
(Jeffrey Jones as Principal Ed Rooney, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1986)
You are not wrong. You are correct.
She is not unattractive. She is pretty.
Malaproism
the mistaken substitution of one word for another that
sounds similar
Example:
“The doctor wrote a subscription”
“Well, I try to look at the bright side. I guess you could say I’m an internal optometrist.”
(Steve Carell as Barry in Dinner for Schmucks, 2010)
“We cannot let terrorists and rogue nations hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile.”
George W. Bush
“Republicans understand the importance of bondage between mother and child.”
Dan Quayle – Vice President
Maxim
a concise statement, often serving advice; an adage
Never trust a man who says, “Trust me.”
“Don’t let your mouth write no check your tail can’t cash.”
(Bo Diddley)
Metaphor
a direct comparison of two different things
“Life is a zoo in a jungle”
Life is a journey – play hard.
Love is the wild card of existence
Metonymy
substituting the name of one object for another object
closely associated with it
“The pen [writing] is mightier than the sword [war/fighting]”
Metonymy is also the rhetorical strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things
around it, as in describing someone’s clothing to characterize the individual
-The suits on Wall Street walked off with most of our savings.
-“Detroit is still hard at work on an SUV that runs on rainforest trees and panda blood.”
(Conan O’Brien)
when “the White House” or “the Pentagon” are used to refer to the presidential staff or the
military, respectively.
Mood
the emotional atmosphere
Motif
a standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works; a repeated pattern
Motivation
a character’s incentive or reason for behaving in a certain
manner; that which impels a character to act
Myth
a traditional story presenting supernatural characters and
episodes that help explain natural events
Non- Sequitur
an inference that does not follow logically from the
premises
(final part is totally unrelated to the first part) Ralph Wiggum: Martin Luther King had a dream. Dreams are where Elmo and Toy
Story had a party and I was invited. Yay! My turn is over!
Principal Skinner: One of your best, Ralphie.
(“The Color Yellow,” The Simpsons, 2010)
Life is life and fun is fun, but it’s all so quiet when the goldfish die.
—West with the Night, Beryl Markham
Onomatopeia
a word formed from the imitation of natural sounds
Words related to water – splish, splash, drizzle, drip, spray, sprinkle
Words related to the voice – giggle, gurgle, grunt, chatter, murmur, mumble
Words related to collisions - bam, bang, clang, clank, thud, thump, ding
Oxymoron
an expression in which two words contradict each other are joined
Example:
jumbo shrimp, free sale, assistant supervisor, almost done, alone together
Parable
a story that illustrates a moral or religious lesson
Paradox
an apparently contradictory statement that actually contains
some truth
“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
(Mother Teresa)
“War is peace.”
“Freedom is slavery.”
“Ignorance is strength.”
(George Orwell, 1984)
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
(C.S. Lewis to his godchild, Lucy Barfield, to whom he dedicated The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe
