An intersection between a simile and metaphor, this literary form captures the reader/listener’s attention by comparing two dissimilar objects – Roopa Banerjee
When someone says, ‘A broken heart is like a damaged clock,’ it seems an unlikely comparison but yet it makes the point. A heart and clock are dissimilar objects, but this ingenious analogy prompts […]
Anachronism is when a person, object or event of a different time and era makes an appearance in a different time period – Roopa Banerjee
Fans of the movie Back to the Future (1985) will remember the scene when Marty McFly replays rock-n-roll pioneer Chuck Berry’s 1958 hit Johnny B. Goode. This is a carefully placed […]
Hypophora is a figure of speech in which a speaker/writer raises a question and immediately provides an answer – Roopa Banerjee
Ask yourself a question and answer it yourself. Does that sound weird? It shouldn’t, as it is a popular literary device used by writers and speakers. Hypophora is a figure of speech in which a […]
At some point of time all clichés were excellently worded phrases. In fact, so well-liked that they were overused, moving gradually to the category of disliked axioms – Roopa Banerjee
A cliché is a phrase, idea or expression that has been overused to the extent that it loses its original meaning and uniqueness. Sometimes, events or occasions […]
If you suggest something silly to your friend and she says, ‘What a great idea!’ she is probably being ironical.
Irony is the use of words to convey meaning which is the opposite of the literal meaning. A popular literary device, irony is a contrast between expectation of a situation and reality.
The presenting of ideas, characters, or places in a manner in which it appeals to more than one of the five senses — sound, sight, smell, taste and touch — is known as synesthesia — Roopa Banerjee
‘Her voice was as smooth as pudding.’ ‘The scent of smoke burned my skin.’
Antanaclasis is a figure of speech wherein the same word is used in two contrasting meanings in one sentence – Roopa Banerjee
Philosopher-politician and one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) famously said: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” This statement is striking […]
Colloquialism is the use of informal words or phrases in writing or speech – Roopa Banerjee
Americans eat cookies, but people in India and the UK eat biscuits. Americans love French fries while the British prefer chips. The use of informal words or phrases in writing or speech is known as colloquialism.
Slips-of-tongue are speech errors in which words are pronounced incorrectly or uttered unintentionally – Roopa Banerjee
Uttering accidental words when you intend to say something else is commonly referred to as a slip of the tongue. Slips-of-tongue are speech errors in which words are pronounced incorrectly or uttered unintentionally.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the founder of psychoanalysis, believed that […]
English playwright Samuel Johnson referred to punning as the lowest form of humour, but Alfred Hitchcock, famous Hollywood producer and director, said puns are the highest form of literature… – Roopa Banerjee
“You can tune a guitar, but you can’t tuna fish. Unless of course, you play bass,” said Douglas Adams (1952-2001), British author, essayist and satirist […]
In the UK media, the British monarch is popularly referred to as The Crown. This is an example of metonymy — a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is referred to by something closely associated with it.
The use of metonymy dates back to ancient Greece. It originates from the Greek word […]
Red herrings are most commonly used in mystery fiction by writers to lead readers down the garden path – Roopa Banerjee
A red herring is a literary device used to mislead or distract readers/listeners from the main narrative, to prompt false conclusions. It may be used intentionally, as in mystery fiction or rhetorical strategy (e.g, in politics) […]
An allegory is a type of literary work in which the characters and events represent qualities or ideas that relate to morals, religion, and/or politics – Roopa Banerjee
Most of us have heard Aesop’s fable of The Tortoise and the Hare during childhood. The objective of parents/teachers/caregivers recounting this fable to children is to drive home the […]
But use it right or it could be your Waterloo – Roopa Banerjee
‘Ah, Krusty — this is your Waterloo!’ says Sideshow Bob in the iconic TV show The Simpsons, alluding to the Battle of Waterloo, where French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte suffered a crushing defeat from which he would never recover. Here, Bob uses the literary […]
This literary device of placing two contrasting concepts, characters, or ideas near or adjacent to each other is generously used by writers to create effect and highlight differences – Roopa Banerjee
If you are served hot pasta with chilled vanilla ice-cream, would it make you pause as these two foods are unlikely companions on a plate? […]
The repeating of a phrase in reverse order is known as an antimetabole – Roopa Banerjee
The sentence ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’ hits a lyrical and rhetorical note because of the placement of words in reverse order. This repeating of a phrase in reverse order is known as an antimetabole.
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics and qualities to animals and/or deities – Roopa Banerjee
Many generations have grown up admiring the wisdom of Winnie the Pooh and laughing at the antics of Mickey Mouse. The persuasiveness with which these characters were written cloaked the fact that they were fictional animal protagonists displaying human attributes and […]
The words cold-blooded, blushing and amazement have something in common. English bard and playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) invented them. They didn’t exist before he coined them. Neologism is the formation of a new word or phrase which often becomes part of the English language after common use.
While many neologisms have become part and parcel […]
Every mathematical number or symbol has a corresponding word or phrase. Mathematics has a language of its own – Roopa Banerjee
Mathematics is associated with numbers and symbols. But, it’s also associated with intriguing words. Every mathematical number or symbol has a corresponding word or phrase. Math has a language of its own. The deeper we […]
Eponym is a name/ noun formed after a person. It helps us remember important people in history who have contributed to shaping the human condition Roopa Banerjee
It’s common practice to honour a person by naming a street/institution after her, but highly uncommon to have a word named after an individual. Eponym is a name/ noun […]
When a trademarked brand name begins to be used as a common name and genericised through constant use, the phenomenon is known as trademark erosion aka genericide – Roopa Bannerjee
It is not uncommon to hear someone say ‘I need to make a Xerox of this’ or ‘Why don’t you cover it with Sellotape?’ When a […]
In the world of litotes, two double negatives make a positive – Roopa Banerjee
Hey, not bad!” When someone says that after you play Chopin (Polish composer Frédéric François Chopin) on the piano, you would be right to experience pride. ‘Not bad’ means you were good. This figure of speech wherein two double negatives make a positive […]
In syllepsis, the literal and metaphorical abide by each other – Roopa Banerjee
The farmers in the valley grew potatoes, peanuts, and bored.”
When you read a sentence like this, you’d expect to read about a third crop after potatoes and peanuts. Reading the word ‘bored’ instead takes one by surprise. The verb ‘grew’ fits both the […]
Dysphemism, the opposite of euphemism, can result in some rude awakenings – Roopa Banerjee
Most of us are aware of ‘euphemism’ but how many of us can claim to be familiar with its sibling ‘dysphemism’? Euphemism is a polite way of saying something unpleasant while dysphemism is the exact opposite. It is a figure of speech where […]
The study of phonoaesthetics helps understand what makes ‘brillig’ grate the nerves, ‘lump’ appear thick, and ‘glowing’ feel light Roopa Banerjee
When we hear the phrase ‘teeny-weeny,’ the smallness of the sound reflects its meaning. Words starting with ‘sl’ mostly feel unpleasant: slug, slush and slime. These are not coincidences and yet they haven’t been coined […]
A parent’s heart fills with pride when the cricket coach describes their child as a young Sachin Tendulkar whereas a person’s heart is likely to sink when he hears himself wryly referred to as Scrooge!
The people under reference here are neither Sachin Tendulkar nor Scrooge. What is happening is that their identifying traits are being […]
Have you ever wondered about the origin of the word ‘detour’? Did you think it was reverse use of route (read detour backwards) and also meant the reverse? Do words have origins and patterns that need to be explored? Do you get curious when you see words with common beginnings and endings? Most words in […]
Pair words or binomials are part and parcel of the English language, says Roopa Banerjee
A binomial is a pair of words linked by a conjunction (usually ‘and’) or a preposition. For instance ‘loud and clear’ or ‘peace and quiet’. There is balance in a pair, and the English language is no exception. Phrases which have two […]
Loanwords indicate that the English language is constantly evolving by absorbing and assimilating words and phrases from other cultures and languages – Roopa Banerjee
Are you going to a bungalow near the jungle wearing a khaki shirt carrying bangles bought from the bazaar?”
Are you aware that the sentence in English has a large number of […]
Cockney rhyming slang, said to be London’s very own secret language, is wacky and wholly enjoyable, says Roopa Banerjee
Cockney rhyming slang is an English dialect which originated in central London over 200 years ago, and is now a quirky touristy attraction of the city.
But who is a cockney? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a […]
Bacronyms are regular words that can also double up as acronyms, says Roopa Banerjee
Acronyms, we all know, but, bacronyms? To understand this figure of speech, you need to know more about acronyms. An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of words and pronounced as a word — for example, NASA is an acronym […]
Can you say ‘Good blood, bad blood’ really, really fast? Try it or challenge your friends to do so. You’ll arrive at some hilarious, tongue-twisting variations! Such groups of words or sounds, typically of an alliterative kind, difficult to pronounce quickly and correctly, are called tongue twisters. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, “tongue twisters are often […]
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