FIGURATIVE EXPESSIONS

simile A figure of speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly compared, usually in a phrase introduced by like or as. Ex."Life is rather like a tin of sardines: we're all of us looking for the key." Metaphor A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things that actually have something in common. Ex"Betweenthelowereastsidetenementsthe sky is a snotty handkerchief."

Personification A figure of speech (generally considered a type of metaphor) in which an inanimate object or abstraction is given human qualities or abilities. Ex."Fear knocked on the door. Faith answered. There was no one there." (proverb quoted by Christopher Moltisanti, The Sopranos)

"The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor, and it's time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!" (Homer Simpson, The Simpsons) "The operation is over. On the table, the knife lies spent, on its side, the bloody meal smear-dried upon its flanks. The knife rests." Apostrophe A figure of speech in which some absent or nonexistent person or thing is addressed as if present and capable of understanding Ex."I believe it is the lost wisdom of my grandfather Whose ways were his own and who died before I could ask. Hyperbole A figure of speech (a form of irony) in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect; an extravagant statement. Adjective:hyperbolic. Contrast with understatement. "I was helpless. I did not know what in the world to do. I was quaking from head to foot, and could have hung my hat on my eyes, they stuck out so far." Allusion A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional. Ex."I violated the Noah rule: predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does."

Synecdoche A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole (for example, ABCs for alphabet) or the whole for a part ("Englandwon the World Cup in 1966"). Synecdoche is often treated as a type of metonymy. Adjective:synecdochic or synecdochal. Ex."The sputtering economy could make the difference if you're trying to get a deal on a new set of wheels."