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2. alliteration: (Latin, ‘repeating and playing upon the same letter’) The use of
words starting with or containing the same letter or sound. It is a very
old devise indeed in English verse and is used occasionally in prose.
If I put it in the
batter
It will make my
batter bitter,
But a bit of
better butter,
That would
make my batter better.
4. anadiplosis: (Greek, ‘doubling’) The repetition of the last word of one clause at
the beginning of the following clause to gain a special effect.
and you were the most courteous knight that ever bore shield;
and you were the truest friend to your lover that ever bestrode horse;
and you were the truest lover of a sinful man that ever loved women;
and you were the kindest man that ever struck with sword;
and you were the goodliest person that ever came among press of
knights;
and you were the meekest man and the gentlest that ever ate in hall
among ladies;
and you were the sternest knight to your mortal foe that ever put spear
in the rest.
6. anastrophe: (Greek, ‘turning back’: used in Rhetoric) The inversion of the usual
order of words or clauses for a particular effect.
1. ‘Crafty men contemn studies; simple men admire them; and wise men
use them.’—Bacon’s apophthegm
1. ‘By the day the frolic, and the dance by night.’—Dr Johnson’s The
Vanity of Human Wishes
14. dysphemism: (Greek, ‘not fair speech’) The use of derogatory or unpleasant
terms instead of pleasant or neutral ones. It is the opposite of
euphemism.
1. ‘a filthy dirty face’
15. ellipsis: (Greek, ‘leaving out’) The omission of words, or sudden breaking off in
mid-sentence, for rhetorical effect.
1. The door opened, and . . .[the ellipsis here creates a dramatic effect.]
18. euphuism: (Greek, ‘well endowed by nature’) An ornately florid, precious and
mazy style of writing. It is also referred to as ‘a purple patch’.
1. ‘The fiery stars twinkled brightly in the pitch-black sky as the utterly
exhausted ploughman walked painfully back from the parched field to
his modest cottage.’—from a School Composition
19. hendiadys: (Greek, ‘one through two’) A figure of speech in which one idea is
expressed by two substantives.
3. I haven’t seen you for aeons. 4. This story is as old as the hills.
5. He was in the sort of overwrought state when a fly treading a
little too heavily on the carpet is enough to make a man think he’s one
of the extras in All Quiet On The Western Front.—PG Wodehouse
23. innuendo: (Latin, ‘by nodding at, by pointing to’) An indirect or subtle
suggestion, often intended as a veiled accusation. An allusive or oblique
remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one.
24. irony: (Greek, ‘dissimulation’) The use of a word or words to convey something
markedly different from the literal meaning; a common component of
sarcasm, though not necessarily so cutting.
1. ‘He’s not exactly sober.’ (He is totally drunk.) 2. ‘Not bad!’ (Very
good.)
26. metaphor: (Greek, ‘carrying from one place to another’) The description of one
thing in terms of another that is related to it by analogy.
2. A carpet of snow covered the pathway, and that was being rolled
up by a man driving a small tractor with a scoop on the front.
1. ‘the Crown’ for the monarchy 2. ‘the turf” for horse racing 3.
‘the stage’ for the theatrical profession
4. ‘the bench’ for the judiciary 5. the name of an author for his
works: ‘This appears in Shakespeare often.’
28. onomatopoeia: (Greek, ‘name-making’) The use of words whose sound suggests
their meaning.
1. The trees groaned. 2. The jovial Moon smiled benignly down at us.
1. Pair off in twos. 2. Return my book back. 3. Please repeat that again. 4.
Let me present the actual facts.
5. The cat ate some cheese, then waited for the mouse
with baited breath.
3.(Teacher angrily to students who have failed in his exam) Do you know
who an idiot is? [ = Look at yourselves and you will
know.]
38. simile: (Latin, ‘like’) A comparison of two unlike ideas or objects, typically using
the word like or as.
2. Then, as the sun went down it seemed to drag the whole sky with
it like shreds of a burning curtain.
4. He was a tubby little chap who looked as if he had been poured into
his clothes and had forgotten to say ‘Stop!’—PG Wodehouse
39. syllepsis: (Greek, ‘a taking together, comprehension’) The use of single word to
apply to two others, in different ways.
40. synecdoche: (Greek, ‘taking up together’) The use of the name of a part to refer
to the whole, or vice versa.
3. India have won the match. [India for Indian cricket team (used
in the plural)]
41. zeugma: (Greek, ‘yoking, bonding’)use of a single word to apply to two others,
especially when it is appropriate to only one.