Metonymy
I love discovering that a word exists to describe a part of speech that I use, but didn't know had a name.
Today, I learned the word metonymy.
From Using English:
Wikipedia offers the following examples of metonymy:
More metonymy found on the web:
---
Now here is a challenge for you, my devoted blog readers: I would like to find a word to describe the following sentences, in which repetition is used for emphasis, dramatic effect, or a sense of foreboding:
Thank you for any suggestions!
Today, I learned the word metonymy.
From Using English:
Metonymy is a word or phrase that is used to represent something it is closely associated with: Wall Street represents the American financial world, much of which is located in Wall Street.
Wikipedia offers the following examples of metonymy:
- "A dish" for an entree.
- "The press" for the news media.
- "Hollywood" for the American film industry.
- "The Crown" for the monarchy.
- "The pen is mightier than the sword"; pen is a metonym for rhetorical persuasion and sword is a metonym for violent coercion.
More metonymy found on the web:
- "Ottawa" or "Parliament Hill" for the Canadian government
- "Washington" for the American federal government
- "Capitol Hill" for the U.S. Congress
- "The White House" refers to the Administrative branch of the U.S. government (president and staff) who reside in the White House
- "Nixon bombed Hanoi" where Nixon does not mean the president personally, but the armed forces that he controlled
- "Sweat" for hard labour
- "The kettle boils" where it is not the kettle itself but the water inside that is boiling
---
Now here is a challenge for you, my devoted blog readers: I would like to find a word to describe the following sentences, in which repetition is used for emphasis, dramatic effect, or a sense of foreboding:
- "Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts."
- "I need help, I repeat, I need help."
- "That's what I said, sir. That's what I said."
- "Beware the Ides of March, Caesar. Beware the Ides of March."
Thank you for any suggestions!
Comments
I include myself in that group and apologize profusely for not being able to provide you with an answer to your burning question.