FIGURATIVE LANGUAGEPUN

Humorous use of a word or phrase so as suggest its different meanings, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words.

“I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger.

Then it hit me.”

ALLITERATIONRepetition of the initial consonant consecutively or within a couple words of each other.

"on scrolls of silver snowy sentences"

(Hart Crane).

SIMILETwo unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by “like” or “as”.

“ as quick as a wink”

“like a bull in a china shop”

CLICHÉAn overused expression or idea.

“It’s got to get worse before it gets better”

ONOMATOPOEIAUse of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer.

“Squirt”

“Cuckoo”

“Sizzle”

EUPHEMISMSubstituting a mild, indirect, or vague term for one considered harsh, blunt, or offensive.

“Passed away = Died”

OXYMORONWhen contradictory or mismatched terms are combined.

“a deafening silence”

“genuine fake”

HYPERBOLEA very strong exaggeration.

“I could sleep for a year”

“This book weighs a ton.”

METAPHORStates that one thing is something else. It is a comparison, but it does NOT use the words “like” or “as” to make the comparison.

“The city is a jungle”

“Her hair is silk”

PERSONIFICATIONGives an inhuman thing a human quality.

“the sun peeked from behind a cloud”

“the wind softly kissed my cheeks”

IMAGERYInvolves one or more of your five senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, sight). An author uses a word or phrase to stimulate your memory of those senses and create a word picture.

IDIOMA group of words whose meaning cannot be understood from the meaning of the individual words; an expression that cannot be translated literally.

“a change of heart”