Synonymia (si-no-ni’-mi-a): In general, the use of several synonyms together to amplify or explain a given subject or term. A kind of repetition that adds emotional force or intellectual clarity. Synonymia often occurs in parallel fashion. The Latin synonym, interpretatio, suggests the expository and rational nature of this figure, while another Greek synonym, congeries, suggests the emotive possibilities of this figure.
Rough, hard, stiff, slippery, and shiny—that’s the floor. I spend a lot of time there. I am a sock skier. I’ve been sock skiing ever since I was a little boy. I started out on linoleum, but now it’s hardwood all the way. I am wealthy and I have a regulation sock ski run in my basement. The sport is easy. You run 25 feet and let your momentum carry you down the run. Whoever slides the farthest wins. As bowling wanes in popularity many bowling alleys have been converted to sock ski runs.
The key to winning is in the socks. 100s of companies make them—from Fire Skidders to Sliding Lighting. I have my own custom socks that I perfected after years of trial and error. They are made of silk yarn from a rare Chinese silkworm produced on a single estate outside Shanghai. They are called Shanghai Rockets. Before their silk’s slipperiness was valued for sock skiing, their silk was used solely for women’s stockings. Their slipperiness enabled them to slide off and on without having to roll them up. Now, with synthetics, their silk’s major market is sock skiing foot wear. However, given the rarity of their yarn, the socks are very expensive—$100.00 a pair. And they only last for three or four rounds of play. This doesn’t matter though, because I have cornered the market on Shanghai Rockets. This gives me a great advantage and I have won many championships.
This year is the 25th year of championship sock skiing. My dominance is threatened. Shanghai Rockets have proliferated and their price has plummeted to $5.00 a pair. I no longer own them all. I am fairly certain my chief rival, “Turtle” Panstead, is responsible for the silk yarn glut and the easy availability of Shanghai Lightnings. Even when we were matched up with Shanghai Lightings, he couldn’t beat me. He had huge feet and they slowed him down—they were like turtle’s feet—hence his nickname “Turtle.” But this tournament was different.
I was prepared to lose. Then, I got the idea of wearing trainers and kicking them off when I hit the sock ski run. My traction on the run up would give me speed and momentum that couldn’t be beat. Traction was a real problem in the run up with the slippery silk. I would conquer it. I took the laces out of my trainers so I could kick them off when I hit the run without skipping a beat.
Everything went well until I kicked off my trainers. One of them hit one of the judges in the head and knocked him out. I was booed and disqualified, even though I won the competition. However, shoe kicking has since become the norm in the sport. Judges wear catcher’s masks from American baseball. Turtle and I made amends. We are partners in the world’s largest sock skiing arena in Portland, Maine. It is called “Top Sock” and it has 300 runs. People travel from all over the world to see it and use it. Last week, two people from France got married on Run 7 and had their reception on the grand concourse. We danced to “Goin’ to Sock City,” “Slidin’ My Way Back to You,” “Sock Around the Clock’,” “Slide Run to Heaven” and a bunch of other sock skier favorites.
So Turtle and I are as happy as can be. We’re thinking about getting a cat with white paws and naming him “Socks.” We also had a special Sock Puppet competition—the puppets are just plain socks, so it’s a real challenge to bring them to life with no faces and just thumb movement inside the sock to simulate a mouth.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
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