Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Figures of speech are words or group of words which cannot be literally interpreted to give the intended meaning. They make use of figurative language, such as similes and metaphors, and thus their intended/actual meaning transcends (goes above or beyond) the literal meaning.

Idiomatic expressions (idioms) are common phrases or sayings whose meaning cannot be understood by the individual words or elements.

Idioms are a subset of figures of speech.

Essentially, a figure of speech is any unit of speech that cannot be properly understood with a literal interpretation, since figurative language is used. An idiom fits that description entirely, but the definition of an idiom must also include the detail that they are commonly used and thus understood primarily by being previously heard in context by the listener or explained to the listener. Thus every idiom is a figure of speech, but only some figures of speech are idioms.

A figure of speech is usually an example of simile, metaphor, or hyperbole. They are to be interpreted figuratively, rather than literally.

"I'm starving" is an example of a figure of speech. People very often say it, not to mean that they are literally starving, i.e. dying of malnutrition, but to express that they are hungry, and they are emphasising this with a hyperbole that is also a figure of speech.

An example of an idiom is the phrase 'kicked the bucket'. One understands that to mean 'died', despite there being no way to get that meaning from it as a result of the literal meanings of the words (except potentially in an extremely strange context). Thus the phrase is a figure of speech. However, it is also an idiom because it is not only the case that the real meaning of it is impossible to reach from a literal interpretation; it is also the case that the real meaning cannot be seen as a result of similes or metaphors or such figurative devices, and the only way that most people understand the phase is by having heard it before in context or by having had it explained to them before.

If someone had learned English as a second language, they would likely struggle for quite some time with idioms. This is because they might not understand the true meaning of idioms, since that understanding only comes from hearing them used in context often enough. On the other hand, someone who has not only "learned" English in an academic way but who has also spoken it in colloquial and conversational contexts for some time would usually understand idioms quite easily.

As in "f*cking the dog" - the act of being lazy, typically used in a workplace setting.

Any events occurring after the resolution

This is an example of a hyperbole. (pronounced high PUHR bowl y)

A hyperbole is an extravagant exaggeration. EX: He drug half the lake out with him. -meaning he was sopping wet.

Jumping off of the cap of a pillbox is an English term used figuratively. To jump off of a cap of a pillbox means to jump off of a house. There are many examples posted on youtube by English youth.

By adding emphasis.

social animal

Event Content
descent, ascent, clement,

no

Yes. Your example is an idiom.

This means that the phrase has a meaning other than the literal one.

whats a minor component that makes up a culture

smokescreen

It means to try to defeat someone by tricking them into making a mistake so that you have an advantage over them.

stop cheating loser

Going by some politics it can be thought that Geeks are more revolutionary than the conservative Wonks.

Wonks write history

Geeks make history.

No, it didn't. Western dialect is still the same in western England. -Put a man from Torbay with a man from Tyneside and they can barely understand each other.

A figure of speech such as 'going to the dogs' is called an adage, a saying, an expression, a cliche, a catchphrase, or truism.

It means that you have (or are in) had the same experience as the person to whom you are talking. That you are in the same state of mind

As Cool as a cucumber meaning

The phrase “As Cool as a Cucumber” means to be very calm, with no worries. Someone who is not affected by pressure. ... The meaning of the word "Cool" in the phrase doesn't mean having a low temperature, on the contrary, it means assured and composed. The phrase was first recorded in a poem by the British poet John Gay 'New Song on New Similies' in 1732: "Cool as a cucumber could see the rest of womankind"

It's personification. Personification is when you give a non human thing human like qualities. The night is not human, yet it is heaving a sigh of relief. This would be an example of personification.

Noun. A+