Questions tagged [rhetoric]
Rhetoric is the art and study of the use of language with persuasive effect. Along with grammar and logic or dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse.
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Term for when someone falsely accuses you of doing to them what they are actually doing to you
UPDATE: (2018-02-08) Pot-Calling-The-Kettle-Black (PCKB) reconsideration and another example:
The Wikipedia article on PCKB indicates something interesting. It says that originally, the term was ...
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Logical fallacy brain-freeze
There must be a name for this sort of after-the-fact non-argument.
Sorry, this is the only way I could find to describe it.
Debbie finds a kitten.
Kitten has been burned over half its body, but it's ...
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What fallacy is this? "Your argument is wrong/invalid because it's just an opinion."
I encounter this fallacy frequently in online discussions where an opponent completely disregards all of my premises and says my conclusion is invalid because it's an "opinion" and "not objective."
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Is there a term for switching syllables of words?
Primary question: A common speaking mistake is to exchange syllables of words, saying "It's trace rhyme!" instead of saying "It's race time!", or pronouncing "kickin' chackatory" instead of "chicken ...
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Word for a style of argument pre-excluding a particular answer as impossible
I'm not sure if this is a type of fallacy, or merely a noun or adjective for a type of (obstinate) argument.
I'm looking for a word that describes a situation where a person is demanding an answer or ...
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Is there a name for a rhetorical technique where a deceptive exaggeration is used openly and with admission in order to effect a desired emotion?
I'm talking about a specific usage of language where the deceit is passive and consistent - an arguer might use an exaggerated word, or a word entirely incorrectly, to alter an audience's reception to ...
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definition and usage for whipsaw?
My understanding of the whipsaw term is that can, according to Wiktionary, be used rhetorically as in these examples:
verb (transitive) To defeat someone in two different ways at once.
2014 November ...
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What is the rhetorical purpose of the phrase: "to be honest?"
What is the rhetorical purpose of the phrase: "to be honest?" I think it has become a way to indicate that what came before was a lie but the speaker does not want to be direct. On LinkedIn, ...
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A tendentious reading, based on [adjective] reasoning — what adjective? [closed]
Let's say I quote a passage and offer a reading — or rather (according to me) the reading. To construct it, I employ...what?
Motivated reasoning?
Interested reasoning?
I feel like there's a clear, ...
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Is there a phrase for when you "bite the bullet" on a logical consequence but maintain that it's not a "bullet" at all?
Opponents of a view often attempt to draw outrageous logical consequences from the view in order to discredit it: if p leads to something as outrageous as q, then that just shows that p is false. ...
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What exactly does ethos mean in rhetoric?
Ethos literally means "ethics", so it would seem that it would be used to describe appeals to one's ethics, morals, or "right vs wrong". However, it seems that it is also used to ...
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Term for allowing implausible scenario in argument
What is the term for allowing an implausible scenario in order to be as generous as possible to the claim one is about to knock down? Example:
Acme Acres recorded 2,000 births last year, but the town ...
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Generalization with plural versus with definite article [closed]
I was studying the usage of definite article in Arabic and I realized I am not on firm grounds in English either.
With respect to either grammar or rhetoric, are there nuances between the following ...
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What does the term "antisemitic" mean and how did it arrive at it's modern definition? [closed]
I ask this question for two reasons. One, it's being used a lot currently in western media and online spaces such as twitter, so maybe if I could fully grasp it's definition I could understand why it'...
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Dramatic hijacking of a sentence
A common trope in movies. What's it called?
Person A: The President was a brilliant man! A truly one-of-a-kind--
Person B: killer, who used his ruthless abandon to get ahead!
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What kind of repetition is "millions and millions and millions of"? [duplicate]
One Eva Smith has gone – but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths…
J.B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls
Would "millions and millions and millions" be an example of ...
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Rhetoric vs. Mathematics: ellipsis/ellipse, parable/parabola, hyperbole/hyperbola
Do ellipsis, parable, and hyperbole from rhetoric have anything in common with the geometric curves ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola used in mathematics?
There are three geometric curves known as ...
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What is the grammatical device that treats abstract concepts as having human agency?
What is the grammatical device that treats abstract concepts as having human agency?
For example: "As it evolved, however, science also turned itself into ideology, belief, and prejudice."
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NVZ♦
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Goodly/godly, loose/lose - name of the rhetorical device? [closed]
What is the name of the following rhetorical device?
loose - lose
goodly - godly
(not in the sense that both words are used in a text but that one is used while implicitly implying the other, e.g. ...
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What rhetorical techniques are these? [closed]
"This is what you can do"
"This is what Americans can do"
To me, these two sentences seem different because (1) feels like it is directed at individuals, singling someone out. ...
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Name for a rhetorical device suggesting an individual fault by generalization
I am trying to find the name of the rhetorical device used in the following (deliberately absurd) example:
John says that he believes in motherhood and apple pie.
In my experience many people who say ...
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Rhetorical phrase analysis [closed]
Is there a rhetorical device found from the following phrase?
It won't cost you a thing, but it may save your life.
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Is there a term for the grammatical/rhetorical construction of "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"?
Is there a term for the construction of specifying someone or something solely via a relative clause without explicitly naming it, as in the example in the title - either at the level of grammar or of ...
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What does "voice" mean in the context of written language?
The two most common frames of reference seem to be (1) agency attribution at the level of sentence structure (active vs. passive voice) and (2) the use of stylistic elements to stamp the persona of ...
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What is a word for a question that has no answer because it is seemingly invalid?
A friend of mine posted a riddle on Facebook involving adding money and then subtracting money. It ended with a question asking where $1 went, but the trick was that there was no discrepancy, so the $...
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Usage and example of the word “litotes”
I've come across the word litotes, which means a rhetorical understatement. However, I’m having trouble understanding how to use it in colloquial English. Could someone please give an example?
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What term or phrase means a person's "manner of speaking" in the general sense?
I'm looking for the word or phrase that could replace "a manner of speaking" in a sentence, as in "He used a halting, hesitant manner of speaking." Not a particular adjective, but name for what those ...
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What's the word for something that is purposefully generalised and understated?
“By the time his arrival was reported, Lindbergh was the world’s hero, and nobody was interested in an Italian who reached his destination at the end of a tow rope.”
Like this example, the Italian guy ...
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"Freedom is slavery" and "Ignorance is strength" - What kind of rhetorical strategy is this?
What kind of rhetorical strategy (or fallacy?) is it when someone uses words with opposite meanings and combines them in what seems to be a contradiction?
In George Orwell’s 1984 we can find:
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Is there a word to describe a plausible but incorrect explanation? [duplicate]
I'm thinking of something where somebody (with no malicious intention) offers a very plausible and scientific-sounding explanation (not a theory but something presented as a series of facts) such that ...
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Metaphor for creativity
What is a good metaphor for a person that is creative, or for creativity in general? I find nothing when searching and nothing really comes to my mind? Help appreciated!
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Rhetoric: Repetition of prefix
In terms of rhetoric devices, what's it called when the prefixes of consecutive words are the same? Specifically, I am looking at this quote by Winston Churchill made in his speech - Give Us the Tools:...
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Seeking a name for literary device/technique involving denial and hypothetical dialogue
Preface
To properly frame this question, I should note that I recently have been studying formal rhetoric according to the five canons (inventio, dispositio, elocutio, memoria, and actio), and paying ...
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Term for anticipating counterarguments and rebutting them
There's this term for the rhetorical device of anticipating counterarguments and rebutting them, but I simply can't remember it.
Now I know what you're thinking - did you try googling it? Well I did,...
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Is a question with an obvious answer to ask another question rhetorical?
If you were to ask someone a question with an obvious answer just to ask another question or to bring a subject up, would that be rhetorical? Like asking "Are you okay?" when someone is obviously hurt ...
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How do I clarify to readers that the bolded dialogue question is a rhetorical question?
Two characters, Scythe Master and Claudia, are having a conversation in this book I'm translating. The first speaker is Scythe. (Bolded part is what I'm 87% sure is a rhetorical question, based on ...
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What makes a question rhetorical?
according to Wikipedia:
A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply.
Example: "How much longer must ...
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What do you call the rhetoric strategy of purposely writing a paragraph that no one can understand?
Most of us have come across a paragraph which sounded meaningless to us or which made us wonder if we were intellectually equipped to read it. That may have been the case, but sometimes one writes a ...
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Name for rhetorical technique of abandoning commas in a long list?
I just came across a very nice example of a rhetorical structure I know I have seen many, many times:
Our national character feels like it’s possessed by every hellish ghost of American history: ...
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What does it mean when someone says " the rhetoric has changed"?
What does it mean when someone says " the rhetoric has changed"?
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What are the differences between rhetorical analysis and close reading? [closed]
Can someone please explain the similarities and differences between rhetorical analysis and close reading?
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What is the name of the stylistic device where you begin and end a text with the same metaphor?
There is a stylistic device where you begin and end a text with the same metaphor. I'm sorry I don't have a "real-world" example in English, but I'll try to describe what I mean.
Let's say there's an ...
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Term for rhetorical refrain
In the widely followed hearing on Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation to the United States Supreme Court, Senator Kamala Harris said to Kavanaugh's accuser of sexual assault;
You have called for an ...
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Is there a name for this particular kind of rhetorical question?
An example:
Coffee? Why are you asking if I want coffee?
Here the speaker, depending on context, means to say that they either want coffee or don't want it and that, in either case, this should be ...
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Comparative studies of examples of epizeuxis
Epizeuxis is a rhetorical device which is defined as involving immediate or close repetition of a word or phrase - 'Break, break, break, On thy cold grey stones, O sea!' (Tennyson) or 'There's a fox, ...
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What types of indirect references are and aren't allusions?
In school I learned that allusions are indirect references.
Often my teachers would give examples in the form of references to well-known literary works.
If I say "I can read the writing on the wall"...
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The usage of "who knows" [duplicate]
Is the second sentence correct English? What is the grammatical role and meaning of "who knows how many jobs"?
...Traditional cars happen to be human sized to transport humans but tiny autos can ...
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"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..."?
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Does “Turtles all the way down” mean endless continuation / exercise similar to ‘peeling onions,’’ or does it represent sophism?
I learned the phrase “Turtles all the way down,” popularized by Stephen Hawking in an answer to my latest question asking the meaning of the phrase, “Mercy within mercy within mercy."
Jmereno ...
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Catchy description for this fallacy
First, I'd like to know the technical term for this fallacy, and then I'd like at least one down-to-earth example that I can refer to in a section heading.
Background: Down Syndrome tends to feature ...
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