cumulative vocab

Question 1

strawman

Answer 1

purposefully misrepresenting the
opponent’s argument and arguing against a weaker version of their argument

Question 2

begging the question

Answer 2

fallacy that happens when the conclusion of an argument is assumed in the phrasing of the question (eg. if aliens didn’t steal my newspaper then who did?)

Question 3

bandwagon

Answer 3

claiming a truth or affirming something is good because the majority thinks so

Question 4

ad hominem

Answer 4

This fallacy occurs when someone criticizes the person making an
argument rather than the argument itself

Question 5

no true scotsman

Answer 5

fallacy where someone defends a generalization by redefining the criteria and dismissing examples that are contradictory

Question 6

mock encomium

Answer 6

praise which is only apparent and which suggests blame instead

Question 7

grotesque

Answer 7

creating a tension between laughter and horror or revulsion

Question 8

comic juxtaposition

Answer 8

linking together (with no commentary) items which normally do not go together

Question 9

mock epic

Answer 9

using elevated diction and devices from the epic or the heroic to deal with low or trivial subjects

Question 10

parody

Answer 10

mimicking the style and/or techniques of something or someone else

Question 11

aphorism

Answer 11

a concise statement designed to make a point or illustrate a commonly held belief (eg. early to bed and early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise)

Question 12

zeugma

Answer 12

grammatically correct linkage of one subject with two or more verbs or a verb with two or more direct objects, linking shows a relationship between ideas more clearly (eg. she opened her door and her heart to the orphan)

Question 13

chiasmus

Answer 13

figure of speech where the order of the terms in the first of parallel clauses is reversed in the second (eg. has the church failed mankind or has mankind failed the church?)

Question 14

asyndeton

Answer 14

the practice of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses in a list (eg. he was brave, fearless, afraid of nothing)

Question 15

consonance

Answer 15

repetition of two or more consonants with a change in the intervening vowels (eg. pitter-patter, splish-splash, click-clack)

Question 16

anadiplosis

Answer 16

repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the next clause (eg. the crime was common, common be the pain)

Question 17

apostrophe

Answer 17

words that are spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an object of abstract idea

Question 18

allusion

Answer 18

a reference to a work of literature, film, etc

Question 19

synecdoche

Answer 19

a figure of speech in which a part is used to designate the whole or the whole is used to designate a part

Question 20

litotes

Answer 20

a figure of speech in which a positive is stated by negating its opposite (eg. “You won’t be sorry you bought this knife set” “The trip wasn’t a total loss”)

Question 21

allegory

Answer 21

a work of literature in which characters, events, and items are directly symbolic of specific social figures, themes, ideas, etc (the entire work is a metaphor)

Question 22

hyperbole

Answer 22

a figure of speech in which deliberate exaggeration is used

Question 23

imagery

Answer 23

writing that uses strong sensory detail

Question 24

conceit

Answer 24

a fanciful poetic image or metaphor that likens one thing to something else that is seemingly very different

Question 25

anaphora

Answer 25

the repetition of specific phrases/parallel syntax specifically used for dramatic or emphatic effect (eg. MLK’s repeated use of the phrase “I have a dream” during his speech)

Question 26

onomatopoeia

Answer 26

words imitate sounds

Question 27

alliteration

Answer 27

repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words

Question 28

antithesis

Answer 28

where words and phrases with opposite meanings are balanced against each other

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”

Question 29

connotation

Answer 29

associations and implications beyond the literal definition of a word

Question 30

metonymy

Answer 30

type of metaphor in which something closely associated with a subject is substituted for it (eg. “the Crown” in reference to the royal family)

Question 31

personification

Answer 31

giving a non living thing human/active qualities

Question 32

archetype

Answer 32

a recurring universal character quality/motif in literature

Question 33

anachronistic

Answer 33

a person or object out of date