Figures of Speech – Subcategories Flashcards
What is situational irony?
When the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what was expected
Example: A fire station burns down.
What is verbal irony?
Saying something while meaning the opposite
Example: The leader of an AA meeting says “I could use a drink right now.”
What is a double-meaning pun?
Also called “double entendre”
A word or phrase with two meanings, used cleverly to suggest both at once—often one normal, one funny or sly
Example: “Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.”
(“Knead” = dough-making + “need.”)
What is a homophonic pun?
A wordplay using words that sound the same but have different meanings and usually different spellings
Example: “I’m reading a book on anti-gravity—it’s hard to put down.”
(“Down” sounds like “down” but means both “lower” and “stop reading.”)
What is a visual pun?
A play on words shown through images or objects that represent a phrase or idea in a clever, funny way
Example: A picture of a “fork in the road” drawn as an actual fork stuck in a path.
(“Fork” = utensil + split in a road.)
What is a recursive pun?
A pun that loops back on itself, where the wordplay references its own structure or repeats in a self-referential way
Example: “This pun is recursive because it describes itself recursively.”
(“Recursive” applies to both the pun’s repetition and its self-description.)
What is dramatic irony?
When the audience knows something that the characters do not
Example: In a horror movie, the audience knows the killer is hiding in the closet, but the character does not.
