“Busy hands worked in the kitchen.”

“A dog not only has a fur coat, but also pants.”

“The pen is mightier than the sword.”

Interactive Quiz created by Nancy Roberts Garrity at St. John Fisher School

NOTE: In order to play this game, it must be viewed in slide show (F5)

Figurative language is writing or speech not intended to be taken literally. Some commonly used figures of speech are pun, synecdoche, and metonymy. You will see examples of these in this exercise. A pun is using a word or words that have more than one meaning. It is sometimes called “a play on words.” Some examples are: “A bicycle can’t stand alone because it is two-tired” and “A chicken crossing a road is poultry in motion.”

A synecdoche is a unique type of metaphor that uses a part to represent or suggest the whole. For example in “Our class brain always has all the correct answers,” we identify the smartest student in the class by using the word brain. This is a synecdoche because “brain” represents a part of the whole person.

A metonymy is a unique type of metaphor in which something is named that replaces something closely related to it. In metonymy, one thing is said when another thing is meant. For example in “Let’s take this problem to City Hall,” City Hall refers to the people in the local city government rather than the building itself.

compiled by Nancy Roberts Garrity

Our social studies teacher said that his globe means the world to him.

pun

metonymysynecdoche

Immediately after the robbery, the law arrived at the scene of the crime.

pun

metonymysynecdoche

In came Mrs. Fezziwig, one vast, substantial smile.

pun

metonymy

synecdoche

Let’s buy one hundred head of cattle.

pun

metonymysynecdoche

A watched pot never boils.

pun

metonymysynecdoche

Sir Lancelot once had a very bad dream about his horse. It was a knight mare.

pun

metonymy

synecdoche

The soldiers displayed much loyalty to our stars and stripes.

pun

metonymy

synecdoche

Busy hands worked in the office.

punmetonymy

synecdoche

The principle part of a horse is the mane, of course.

punmetonymy

synecdoche

The room was filled with smiling faces.

pun

metonymy

synecdoche

He said that he was working hard, but he was hardly working.

punmetonymysynecdoche

The White House announced that the president would soon visit Japan.

punmetonymysynecdoche