Terms Flashcards
Onomatopoeia
Word which sounds like what it means “bang”, “crash” and “thud”
Simile
A metaphor with its scaffolding still in place, “as like two peas in a pod”.
(Comparing two (sometimes unlike) things by using the words “like,” “as,” or “than”)
Exemplum
Use of example/case study
Consonance
Rhyming consonants (basically alliteration)
Assonance
Rhyming similar vowel sounds
Homeoteleuton
Repetition of word endings
“The cheapER the crook, the gaudiER the pattER”
Palilogia
Repetition without words in-between
“Location, location, location.”
Epistrophe
Repetition of last word
“Government of the people, by the people and for the people”
Diacope
A-B-A
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!”
Anaphora
Repetition of initial word/phrase
“We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight on the hills and streets.”
Anticlimax
Raising the tone, then deliberately dropping it.
“Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber ton the weekends.”
Polysendeton
Repeated use of coordinating conjunctions (and, or)
“Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets and books and mostly-mostly-let them have their whiteness.”
Litotes
Understatement
“The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage”
Antanagoge
Balancing negative point with positive
“So you live alone? It must be nice to be able to do what you want”
Catacosmesis
Arranging items from biggest to smallest/greatest to least
“Lions led by donkey”
Syllogism
Three-part argument: 2 statements and a conclusion.
“Smiling is my favourite. You make me smile. That makes you my favourite.”
Enthymeme
An argumentative statement in which the writer or the speaker omits one of the premises, does not clearly pronounce it, or keeps the promise implied.
“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass… and I’m all out of bubblegum”
Diasyrmus
Ludicrous comparison
“Arguing that we can clean up government by better regulating elections is like asking a dog to quit marking his territory by lifting his hind leg”
Apodixis
Use of common knowledge
“Friends don’t let friends drive drunk”
Martyria
Use of personal knowledge/experience.
“I knew Jack Kennedy - senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy”
Argumentum ad Baculum
Use of threat
“Buy this magazine or we kill this dog”
Anacoenosis
Posing a question to show common interest with audience.
“Now tell me, given the evidence before us, could you have decided any differently.”
Procatalepsis
Raising objections before audience does, and squashing them
“Everything in this room is edible. Yes I am edible, but that, children, is called ‘cannibalism.’”
Sententia
Use of quotation/well-known phrase
“The lesson we have to learn is to ‘live and let live.’”
Distinctio
Precise definition
“I could but I don’t have the time. And by don’t have the time, I mean I don’t want to.
Analogical reasoning
A is to B, as C is to D
“He was to the English language what the iceberg was to the titanic”
Tapinosis
Understatement
“The mid-century unpleasantness between Axis and the Allies”
Epitheton
Use of snappy descriptive words
“I will give the people a vision of Rome and they’ll love me for it. And they’ll soon forget the tedious sermonizing of a few dry old men”
Diaskeue
Graphic description of circumstances, designed to rouse emotions
“Look at my children, their malnourished cheeks, their bare feet, their hunger to know something more than hunger…”
Humility Topos
Adoption of stance of (false) modesty as means of putting audience off their guard.
“Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking…”
Neologism
Coining a new word/phrase
“I’m a rageaholic! I’m addicted to rageahol!”
Skotison
Deliberate obscurity/Confusing with jargon
“The powerful and bottom-line microsegment proactively boosts core competencies, paving the way for aggressive flexibilities”
Meiosis
Understatement
Black Knight: ‘Tis but a scratch!
King Arthur: A scratch? Your arm’s off!
Black Knight: No, it isn’t.
King Arthur: What’s that, then?
Black Knight: [after a pause] I’ve had worse
Synonymia
Emphasis through piling up words/phrases with similar meanings.
“‘E’s kicked the bucket, ‘e’s shuffled off ‘is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’
choir invisible!! - THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!”
Climax
Arranging ideas in ascending order of importance
“Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird… it’s a plane… it’s Superman!”
Auxesis
Building up an idea (not unlike climax or hyperbole)
“Jeans That Can Lengthen Legs/Hug Hips & Turn Heads”
Epanorthosis
Emphatic correction of what has just been said
“The psychologist known as Sigmund Fraud— Freud, I mean!”
Dirimens Copilatio
Balancing one statement with a contrary, qualifying statement ( “not only… but also”)
“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment”
Ratiociatio
Statement-Question-Answer
“The economy is overheating. Why do I say this? Because inflation is rising rapidly.”
Tricolon
Use of three words/phrases (can be repetition, but not necessarily)
“Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered)
Pysma
Rapid-fire questioning to overwhelm opponents
“But I’m funny, how? I mean, funny like I’m a clown? I amuse you?”
Protherapeia
Soothing audience before giving the bad news
“I really enjoyed reading this essay; there are some lovely points, but there are some issues we need to work on…”
Epanalepsis
Using same word at beginning and end of a phrase for effect
“Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges.”
Anadiplosis
Linking last word of one phrase to first word of next.
“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering, and that way lies the dark side, young Skywalker.”
Argumentum Ad Fortiori
Arguing from a stronger point to a weaker/lesser
“If you do not trust your child to safely operate a bicycle, then a fortiori, you do not trust him to operate an automobile.”
Apophasis
Framing debate by discounting anything that
harms your case.
“It is not our abilities that show what we truly are… It is our choices.”
Concessio
Strategic concession of one point to win a wider one/reframe argument.
“Yes, you’re right about that, and the question is how do we move on from here?”
Ominatio
Warning of negative consequences in case of action/inaction.
“For more information on lung cancer, keep smoking.”
Aetiologia
Evidence-based persuasion - cause and effect
“She did leave early, but it was because her manager called her and there were customers waiting.”
Paraprosdokian
Tweaking a cliché for effect, or taking a sentence in an unexpected direction.
“If I could just say a few words… I’d be a better public speaker.”
Asyndeton
Omitting ‘and/or’ in lists.
“We came, we saw, we kicked its ass.”
Antithesis
Use of opposites for dramatic contrast
“Live Free or Die”
Alliteration
“Constantly confusing, confounding the British henchmen”
“Everyone give it up for America’s favorite fighting Frenchman!”
Oxymoron
Use of contradiction
“I am a deeply superficial person”
Chiasmus
Crisscrossing/overlapping phrases/ideas
“All for one and one for all”
