Figures of speech

Question 1

Allusion

Answer 1

Allusion - an indirect or passing reference to an event, person, place or artistic work that the author assumes the
reader will understand.

Question 2

Anachronism

Answer 2

Anachronism - an event, object, custom, person or thing that is out of its time in history. A clock strikes
in Julius Caesar.

Question 3

Analogy

Answer 3

Analogy - a comparison of similar things, often to explain something unfamiliar with something familiar.
(the branching of a river system is often explained using a tree and its branches.)

Question 4

aphorism

Answer 4

Aphorism - A terse statement of a principal or truth; a maxim. (Life is long, reasoning difficult, etc.)

Question 5

apostrophe

Answer 5

Apostrophe - a rhetorical device in which the speaker addresses a dead or absent person, or an inanimate object
or abstraction.
“oh nature, thou art my goddess

Question 6

cliche

Answer 6

Cliche - Any expression that has been used so often it has lost its freshness. (Sharp as a tack, the last straw, etc.)

Question 7

epigram

Answer 7

Epigram - any terse, witty, pointed saying. For example, “She knows the cost of everything, but the value of
nothing”.

Question 8

euphemism

Answer 8

Euphemism - the substitution of a mild term for one more offensive or hurtful.

Question 9

figurative language

Answer 9

Figurative language - language that contains figures of speech, such as metaphor, simile, personification, etc.

Question 10

hyperbole

Answer 10

Hyperbole - exaggeration for the sake of emphasis in a figure of speech not meant literally. “T’ve been waiting
here for ages.”

Question 11

kenning

Answer 11

Kenning - a metaphoric compound word or phrase used as a synonym for a common noun. “Ring-bestower” for
king; “whale-road” for sea; “candle of heaven” for the sun; “war-brand” for a sword.

Question 12

litotes

Answer 12

Litotes - a figure of speech by which an affirmation is made indirectly by saying its opposite, usually with an
effect of understatement. “I’d not be averse to a drink.”

Question 13

malapropism

Answer 13

Malapropism - the comic substitution of one word for another similar in sound, but quite different in meaning. “I would have her instructed in geometry (geography) that she might know of contagious (contiguous) countries.”

Question 14

metaphor

Answer 14

Metaphor - the most important and widespread figure of speech in which one thing, idea, or action is referred to by a word or expression normally denoting another thing, idea or action, so as to suggest some common quality (qualities) shared by the two. “He is a pig.”

Question 15

extended metaphor

Answer 15

Extended metaphor - an idea sustained throughout the work

Question 16

dead metaphor

Answer 16

Dead metaphor - one that has been used so much it has lost its figurative meaning and is taken literally (eye
of a needle, head of the class)

Question 17

mixed metaphor

Answer 17

Mixed metaphor - a combination of two or more inconsistent metaphors in a single expression (He’ll have to
take the bull by the horns to keep the business afloat.)

Question 18

metonymy

Answer 18

Metonymy - figure of speech in which a representative term is used for a larger idea. The pen is mightier than the
sword.

Question 19

onomatopoeia

Answer 19

Onomatopoeia - the use of words that seem to imitate the sounds they refer to (whack, fizz, crackle, etc.).

Question 20

oxymoron

Answer 20

Oxymoron - A figure of speech in which two contradictory words or phrases are combined in a single expression.
(wise fool, living death, etc.)

Question 21

personification

Answer 21

Personification - the technique by which animals, abstract ideas, or inanimate objects are referred to as if they
were human. “The wind howled through the trees.”

Question 22

proverb

Answer 22

Proverb- a short saying that expresses some commonplace truth or bit of folk wisdom. “A stitch in time saves
nine.”

Question 23

pun

Answer 23

Pun - a form of wit, not necessarily funny, involving a play on a word with two or more meanings.

Question 24

simile

Answer 24

Simile - a less direct metaphor, using like or as. “He is like a pig.”

Question 25

syllogism

Answer 25

Syllogism - A form of logical reasoning, consisting of two premises and a conclusion.
“All mammals are animals. All elephants are mammals. Therefore, all elephants are animals.”

Question 26

synesthesia

Answer 26

Synesthesia - The description of one kind of sensation in terms of another. “He is wearing a loud shirt.”

Question 27

synecdoche

Answer 27

Synecdoche - figure of speech that utilizes a part as representative of the whole. (e.g. ‘hands’ for manual laborers; “the law” for a police officer).

Question 28

tautology

Answer 28

Tautology - repetition of an idea in a different word, phrase or sentence. “With malice toward none, with
charity for all.” Abraham Lincoln.

Question 29

understatement

Answer 29

Understatement - a type of verbal irony in which something is purposely represented as being far less important
than it actually is.
Ex. During the second war with Iraq, American troops complained of a fierce sand storm that made even the night-vision equipment useless. A British commando commented about the storm: “It’s a bit breezy.”

Question 30

zeugma

Answer 30

Zeugma - a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses (or in a literal and figurative sense).
John and his license expired last week. OR Shay opened her heart and her home to the rescued puppy.