Think back to your grammar school days and try to remember those flash cards. You likely learned about figures of speech, such as a simile, and can easily point out when someone is telling a story with a metaphor, or making a point with irony. However, there are lesser-known figures of speech you can use to spice up your storytelling, too. Here are eight you should brush up on before your next cocktail party.
Anaphora
Here's an intimidating word for something you’ve definitely heard and used before. You’ll find it in Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. "Anaphora" is a repeated word or phrase in successive sentences. It usually leads up to a dramatic moment or an important message.
Chiasmus
Have you ever heard the phrase, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going?” Whether or not you agree with it, it’s a classic example of a chiasmus or a grammatical inversion. You’re using most of the same words in the first part of the sentence as in the second half, but the words are reversed to create an entirely new meaning.
Pleonasm
If you know someone who uses pleonasm, you’re likely more annoyed than impressed by it. "Pleonasm" is using more words than necessary to say something. You might notice that although these people try to sound intelligent, it just sounds confusing. Stop them and ask them to simplify.
Synecdoche
"Synecdoche" is arguably the opposite of pleonasm. This figure of speech refers to stripping down a concept to one word or a brief phrase to represent a larger entity. To give a trendy example, say, "Millennials," and likely everyone will know exactly what you mean.
Metonymy
At first glance, metonymy and synecdoche look the same. However, while they’re both single words used to represent a concept or object, a synecdoche is more obviously related to its source.
Metonymy, on the other hand, uses a characteristic of the noun or concept to describe it. An example is saying “the crown” in place of royalty, or “my heart” instead of love.
Skotison
"Skotison" has the same effect as pleonasm for some people, but in this case, the purpose is also to confuse the listener. If you ask someone, “How are you?” and they respond with, “I am slowly sinking into the great abyss of the corporate lifestyle,” you might wonder why they couldn’t just lie and say, “I’m fine,” like everyone else.
Accismus
The next time you ask your partner what’s wrong and they reply, “Nothing,” you’ll have a word for it — "accismus." Accismus means playing coy or faking disinterest when you actually want something. An example is saying, “It’s fine,” or implying that you don’t care about going to that movie you’re dying to see.
Paronomasia
Paronomasia is perhaps the most entertaining of all figures of speech. You might know it better as a pun. You can’t force paronomasia — a good pun just has to happen naturally. Try too hard and you’re sure to hear groans.