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| 3619311552 | chiasmus | the repetition of ideas in inverted order; the repetition of grammatical structures in inverted order. "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." | 0 | |
| 3619322113 | antithesis | juxtoposition of contrasting words or ideas (often, but not always, in parallel structure) "Patience is bitter, but it has a sweet fruit." "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." --Neil Armstrong "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" --Charles Dickens | 1 | |
| 3619334275 | epistrophe | ending a series of lines, phrases, clauses or sentences with the same word or words. "Where now? Who now? When now?" --Samuel Beckett "And that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." --Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" | 2 | |
| 3619334276 | apostrophe | breaking off a discourse to address some person or personified thing either present or absent "Welcome, O Life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience [...]" --James Joyce Hint: If you see "O!" then it's probably apostrophe! "Twinkle, twinkle, little star How I wonder what you are [...]" | 3 | |
| 3619390992 | hyperbole | rhetorical exaggeration. often accomplished via comparisons, similes and metaphors "That was the easiest question in the world." "This is the worst day EVER. Why do I fail at life?" "I'll love you, dear, I'll love you Till China and Africa meet, And the river jumps over the mountain And the salmon sing in the street, I'll love you till the ocean Is folded and hung up to dry" --W.H. Auden | 4 | |
| 3619404823 | synecdoche | the substitution of a part for a whole; calling something by just one of its component parts "gray beard" for an old man "boots" for soldiers ("boots on the ground") "Coke" for any carbonated soft drink (Southern synecdoche!) | 5 | |
| 3619408116 | metonymy | the substitution of some attribute or suggestive word for what is actually meant. The word we use to describe another thing is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not necessarily a part of it (so it's NOT synecdoche). "Let me give you a hand" (hand means help) "The pen is mightier than the sword" (written words over violent force) "crown" as a substitute for a king or queen ("British citizens are under the authority of the crown") | 6 | |
| 3688626917 | syllogism | rhetorical device that starts an argument with a reference to something general and from this it DRAWS A CONCLUSION about something more specific; a syllogism usually comes as a set of 3 propositions, with the last as a conclusion: Example: All humans are selfish Socrates was a human Socrates was selfish No reptiles have fur. Some reptiles are lizards. Therefore, no lizards have fur. | 7 | |
| 3688656956 | warrant | The assumption underlying an argument that connects evidence to a claim; a "bridge" between the two explaining the relevance of the evidence; the "glue" that holds the argument together, saying "this evidence supports this claim because..." Example: Claim: Hybrid cars are an effective way to fight pollution Evidence: Driving a private car is a typical citizen's most air polluting activity. Warrant: (Because cars are the largest source of private, as opposed to industry produced, air pollution switching to hybrid cars should have an impact on fighting pollution.) | 8 | |
| 3688689068 | enthymeme | An argument in which one premise is not directly stated; an argument where the warrant is left unstated; a shortened syllogism Example: Socrates is selfish because he's human [Implies that all humans are selfish] These people are performing the Nazi salute, so they must be evil [Assumes premise that performing a salute means you believe Nazi beliefs AND that all Nazis are evil] Faulty example: Since that woman has a child, she must have given birth [Assumes wrongly that the only way to have children is to give birth to them] | 9 | |
| 3688704673 | circumlocution | Using many words when just a few would do; talking around a topic in a deliberate attempt to be vague and evasive Example: His confession came after years of circumlocution. The presidential debates feature circumlocution as candidates try to avoid answering tough questions about their voting records. | 10 | |
| 3688714691 | colloquialism | An informal word or phrase commonly used in conversation rather than academic writing or speaking; a slang term, sometimes geographically specific to a region Examples: "I wasn't born yesterday" "Bless her heart" Anything in Urban Dictionary is a colloquialism! | 11 | |
| 3688720395 | euphemism | a mild or indirect expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing. Example: "met his Maker" for dying "vertically challenged" for short | 12 | |
| 3688728819 | red herring | something that misleads or distracts from the issue at hand; often used to "win" an argument by changing the subject: Argument A is presented by person 1. Person 2 introduces argument B. (the red herring) Argument A is abandoned. Example: "Yes, I cheated on you, but think of all those times I had to clean EVERYTHING around this house! You never did anything." [The argument should still be about the cheating, not about previous grievances that may have led to it] | 13 |
