Tagged Questions
2
votes
1answer
171 views
Litotes: Always for Emphasis? Used for Non-committal Hedging? Any Authoritative Source?
My question is about litotes. I’m wondering if it is always for emphasis, or whether it can be a type of non-committal statement or hedging. And, is there an authoritative source that can be cited ...
3
votes
2answers
890 views
Figure of Speech vs. Figure of Thought
Is there any meaningful difference between a "figure of speech" and a "figure of thought". Searching for a definition of "figure of thought" leads to many esoteric discussions relating to ancient ...
3
votes
2answers
464 views
Difference between a synecdoche and metonym?
From the definitions of these two types of figures of speech (tropes, if you will), I have always understand them to mean the same thing. Essentially, that is the usage of either a specific attribute ...
1
vote
4answers
921 views
What is the name of this figure of speech?
I've been reading Nevil Shute books recently, and they are set in late-1940s Britain. As a consequence, the characters are always using expressions such as "frightfully good", "terribly good" and ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Meaning of a quote in movie Casino Royale (2006)
Vesper Lynd: There are dinner jackets and dinner jackets; this is
the latter. And I need you looking
like a man who belongs at that table.
Here what does the line "There are dinner jackets ...
19
votes
4answers
1k views
“A whole nother” way of looking at things
People say this so much (instead of "another whole" way, etc.) that I wonder how it got started. How did "another whole..." get changed to "a whole nother..."?
