Palilogia (pa-li-lo’-gi-a): Repetition of the same word, with none between, for vehemence. Synonym for epizeuxis.
Snow snow snow and more snow! The first foot was fun, but now you need to stop! Stop!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Diazeugma (di-a-zoog’-ma): The figure by which a single subject governs several verbs or verbal constructions (usually arranged in parallel fashion and expressing a similar idea); the opposite of zeugma.
I couldn’t get to sleep because my report wasn’t finished, my psycho neighbor was playing with his musical clapper, the handgun my mother had given me was missing, and worst of all, my Sleep Number bed’s 5-part fully adjustable electric frame was stuck at 9–AKA spine bending speed bump.
Definition courtesy of Silva Rhetoricae (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Bomphiologia (bom-phi-o-lo’-gi-a): Exaggeration done in a self-aggrandizing manner, as a braggart.
I am the stars in your sky, the hope in your heart, and the love of your life. What more could you ask for, baby?
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
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Tagged bomphiologia, elocutio, example, figures of speech, rhetoric, trope
Tapinosis (ta-pi-no’-sis): Giving a name to something which diminishes it in importance.
The so-called “fiscal cliff” is actually a fiscal curb. If we go over the fiscal curb, we’ll drive off the road to prosperity.
Definition courtesy of: “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
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Tagged elocutio, example, figures of speech, fiscal cliff, fiscal curb, politica, rhetoric, style, tapinosis, trope
Metonymy (me-ton’-y-my): Reference to something or someone by naming one of its attributes. [This may include effects or any of the four Aristotelian causes {efficient/maker/inventor, material, formal/shape, final/purpose}.]
Hey Big Tooth, give me five! Long time no see! Are you still a shrink?
Definition courtesy of “Sliva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
Posted in metonymy
Tagged Aristotelian causes, elocutio, example, figures of speech, metonymy, style, trope
Anesis (an’-e-sis): Adding a concluding sentence that diminishes the effect of what has been said previously. The opposite of epitasis.
My little doggy is cute, affectionate, and obedient. That said, he smells like a polluted mud flat at low tide on a hot afternoon.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.edu.byu)
Antithesis (an-tith’-e-sis): Juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas (often, although not always, in parallel structure).
My opinion is neither true nor false, neither is yours. Some opinions differ. Some opinions don’t.
Opinions may be judged as better or worse, negative or positive, ill-founded or well-grounded, but never true or false.
That’s the truth.
It’s election day in the USA and one thing is for certain, one’s vote is one of the most powerful ways to express one’s opinion.
That’s my opinion.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in antithesis
Tagged antithesis, election day, elocutio, example, figures of speech, opinion, trope, vote
Traductio (tra-duk’-ti-o): Repeating the same word variously throughout a sentence or thought. Some authorities restrict traductio further to mean repeating the same word but with a different meaning (see ploce, antanaclasis, and diaphora), or in a different form (=polyptoton. . . . ). If the repeated word occurs in parallel fashion at the beginnings of phrases or clauses, it becomes anaphora; at the endings of phrases or clauses, epistrophe.
Hope for rain and hope will reign even if it doesn’t rain!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Posted in traductio
Tagged antanaclasis, drought, elocutio, epistrophe, example, figures of speech, ploce, polyptoton, rain, rhetoric, traductio, trope, weather
Palilogia (pa-li-lo’-gi-a): Repetition of the same word, with none between, for vehemence. Synonym for epizeuxis.
That’s all he wants to do: spend, spend, spend! You cannot spend your way out of a recession. It’s simple math. You must slash your way out of a recession: Taxes! Public employees! Entitlements! Slash, slash, slash! That’s the way to do it!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Prozeugma (pro-zoog’-ma): A series of clauses in which the verb employed in the first is elided (and thus implied) in the others.
Time is consciousness of when. Space, of where. Me, of here and now.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Mesozeugma (me’-so-zyoog’-ma): A zeugma in which one places a common verb for many subjects in the middle of a construction.
The lunar eclipse was beautiful; the soft sound of the dan bau, the night sky, your gentle smile too.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
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Tagged dan bau, elocutio, example, figures of speech, mesozeugma, rhetoric, The Daily Trope, trope, zeugma
Epiplexis (e-pi-plex’-is): Asking questions in order to chide, to express grief, or to inveigh. A kind of rhetorical question.
What kind of idiot are you? Didn’t you realize that you’d get hurt if you used my chainsaw blindfolded? Where did you get the idea that doing what your stupid so-called friends dare you to do is the right thing to do? You’re lucky to be alive. I hope your foot heals soon.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
Posted in epiplexis
Tagged elocutio, epiplexis, example, figures of speech, rhetoric, The Daily Trope, trope
Thaumasmus (thau-mas’-mus): To marvel at something rather than to state it in a matter of fact way.
It is totally amazing that Mitt Romney was ever the Bain of anybody’s existence. Thousands of workers fired? Come on, he’s such a smiley, well-groomed guy. I’d trust him with your life.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in thaumasmus
Tagged Bain, example, figures of speech, Mitt Romney, politics, thaumasmus, The Daily Trope, trope
Onomatopoeia (on-o-mat-o-pee’-a): Using or inventing a word whose sound imitates that which it names (the union of phonetics and semantics).
Mush! Coosh! We eat it so fast our hands go swoosh! Mmmmm.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
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Tagged coosh, example, figures of speech, mush, onomatopoeia, rhetoric, The Daily Trope, trope
Sarcasmus (sar’-kaz-mus): Use of mockery, verbal taunts, or bitter irony.
Those Greeks sure know how to manage their money–nothing beats double-triple-minus-∞ junk bond status as a testament to Greece’s brilliance at managing its finances.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Posted in sarcasmus
Tagged example, figures of speech, Greece, junk bond, rhetoric, sarcasmus, The Daily Trope, trope
Astrothesia (as-tro-the’-si-a): A vivid description of stars. One type of enargia.
In some story of ancient origins, stars are holes that let out a dreamy light to still our spinning thoughts and send us off to dream underneath the blanket of night.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Posted in astrothesia
Tagged astrothesia, enargia, example, figures of speech, rhetoric, stars, The Daily Trope, trope
Optatio (op-ta’-ti-o): Expressing a wish, often ardently.
Child: Mommy! I wish I had an iPad–one of the new ones. Mommy, please buy me an iPad. Please Mommy! Please! Please! Please!
Mother: No.
Child: I hate you. I wish you were dead.
Mother: You’re grounded.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetorica” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in optatio
Tagged example, figures of speech, iPad, optatio, The Daily Trope, trope
Catacosmesis (kat-a-kos-mees’-is): Ordering words from greatest to least in dignity, or in correct order of time.
Birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, old age. Life’s phases narrate time.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Posted in catacosmesis
Tagged catacosmesis, example, figures of speech, rhetoric, The Daily Trope, trope
Hypozeuxis (hyp-o-zook’-sis): Opposite of zeugma. Every clause has its own verb.
Last night the sweaty Indiana campaign crowd cheered, the winning candidate smiled and waved, and Lugar’s legacy was demolished, flattened, paved over. And today, on that great flat expanse, the fleet of shiny new 2013 Conservative Avengers (made in USA) is lined up in a row in accord with the giant red, white, and blue sign at the entrance:
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in hypozeuxis
Tagged example, far right, figures of speech, hypozeuxis, politics, rhetoric, Senator Lugar, The Daily Trope, trope, zeugma
Allegory (al’-le-go-ry): A sustained metaphor continued through whole sentences or even through a whole discourse.
Prince Mite Yenmor looked out from his mountain lair across the Lake of Salt and saw the Untied States, and feeling in his slender royal gut a yen for more, with gleaming eyes and snow capped teeth he spoke: “Yea, I shall be ruler of this realm. I shall spend more than a fortune in gold and I shall buy a troop of low-browed voting sluggards, and inflaming their hearts, I shall make them thirst for justice, and so, as they so-thirst, I shall call them by the proud name of their beverage of choice–The Mighty 7 Ups, The Bud Lite Brigade, or, oh yes, that’s it! The Lipton Lancers! That shall suit them to a tea! Ha ha, my royal sense of humor waxes!”
And so, Prince Yenmor bought and named the Lipton Lancers and set out to quench the Lancers’ thirst for justice and topple King Amabo with a mighty loud and raucous chorus of finely penned insults, oft repeated BIG LIES, and the jewel in the crown of Prince Yenmor’s certain victory: the unyielding allegiance of Sir Fox the Crier who broadcast Yenmor’s nice hair, good posture, glorious smile, and royal words throughout the Untied States.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in allegory
Tagged 7 up, allegory, Bud Lite, example, figures of speech, Lipton, Obama Amabo, politics, rhetoric, Romney Yenmor, The Daily Trope, trope
Oxymoron (ox-y-mo’-ron): Placing two ordinarily opposing terms adjacent to one another. A compressed paradox.
He is cunningly ingenuous with the rolled up sleeves of his shirt and the “Aw shucks howdy do” as he reaches out to shake hands with you. But the shirt is tailor made, and so is the handshake–tailor made to make you think he’s “just like you” so a vote for him is a vote for you too!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu).
Posted in oxymoron
Tagged example, figures of speech, oxymoron, politics, rhetoric, The Daily Trope, trope
Apagoresis (a-pa-gor’-e-sis): A statement designed to inhibit someone from doing something. Often uses exaggeration [or hyperbole] to persuade. It may combine an exaggeration with a cause/effect or antecedent/consequence relationship. The consequences or effects of such a phrase are usually exaggerated to be more convincing.
Keep riding that motorcycle and some day you’ll be a red skid mark on the asphalt, or, if you’re lucky, a comatose stick in a hospital bed.
Definitions courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.
Posted in apagoresis
Tagged apagoresis, example, figures of speech, hyperbole, rhetoric, The Daily Trope, trope
Coenotes (cee’-no-tees): Repetition of two different phrases: one at the beginning and the other at the end of successive paragraphs. Note: Composed of anaphora and epistrophe, coenotes is simply a more specific kind of symploce (the repetition of phrases, not merely words).
Hear me! We have journeyed a long, long way. And, I say, we are almost home.
Hear me! Our map is faith and our hope moves our tired feet. And, I say, we are almost home.
Hear me! We are going home to the place to rest, to break bread, to call our own! I can feel it! We are almost home!
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in coenotes
Tagged anaphora, coenotes, elocutio, epistrophe, example, figures of speech, rhetoric, symploce, trope
Personification: Reference to abstractions or inanimate objects as though they had human qualities or abilities. The English term for prosopopeia (pro-so-po-pe’-i-a) or ethopoeia (e-tho-po’-ia): the description and portrayal of a character (natural propensities, manners and affections, etc.).
That clock on the wall knows what time it is. Pay attention to what it’s saying! It’s telling you that you better leave right now or you’ll miss your bus to Las Vegas.
Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)
Posted in personification
Tagged elocutio, ethopoeia, example, figures of speech, Las Vegas, personification, prosopopoeia, trope
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