Devices

Question 1

Alliteration

Answer 1

repetition of the same letter at beginning of words or syllables

Question 2

Anacoluthon

Answer 2

lack of grammatical sequence; a change in the grammatical construction within the same sentence.

Question 3

Anadiplosis

Answer 3

the rhetorical repetition of one or several words; specifically, repetition of a word that ends one clause at the beginning of the next.

Question 4

Anaphora

Answer 4

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines.

Question 5

Anastrophe

Answer 5

inversion of usual word order

Question 6

Antistrophe

Answer 6

repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.

Question 7

Antithesis

Answer 7

opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction.

Question 8

Aporia

Answer 8

expression of doubt (often feigned) by which a speaker appears uncertain as to what he should think, say, or do.

Question 9

Aposiopesis

Answer 9

breaking off in the middle of a sentence

Question 10

Apostrophe

Answer 10

addressing a person who is not present

Question 11

Archaism

Answer 11

Use of an older or obsolete form.

Question 12

Asyndeton

Answer 12

omission of conjunctions

Question 13

Assonance

Answer 13

repetition of the same sound in words close to each other

Question 14

Brachylogy

Answer 14

a general term for abbreviated or condensed expression, of which asyndeton and zeugma are types. Ellipse is often used synonymously. The suppressed word or phrase can usually be supplied easily from the surrounding context.

Question 15

Cacophony

Answer 15

Harsh joining of words

Question 16

Catachresis

Answer 16

a harsh metaphor involving the use of a word beyond its strict sphere.

Question 17

Chiasmus

Answer 17

“a-b-b-a” arrangement of words

Question 18

Climax

Answer 18

arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of ascending power. Often the last emphatic word in one phrase or clause is repeated as the first emphatic word of the next.

Question 19

Ellipsis

Answer 19

omission of words

Question 20

Euphemism

Answer 20

substitution of an agreeable or at least non-offensive expression for one whose plainer meaning might be harsh or unpleasant.

Question 21

Epiphora

Answer 21

like anaphora except at the end of a sentence

Question 22

Hendiadys

Answer 22

use of two nouns together to express a noun modified by an adjective

Question 23

Hypallage

Answer 23

(“Exchanging”) transferred epithet; grammatical agreement of a word with another word which it does not logically qualify. More common in poetry.

Question 24

Hyperbole

Answer 24

Exaggeration

Question 25

Hyperbaton

Answer 25

the arranging of words in a particular manner to produce an effect

Question 26

Hysteron proteron

Answer 26

placing first what the reader might expect to come last

Question 26

Litotes

Answer 26

use of a negative to express a strong positive

Question 27

Irony

Answer 27

expression of something which is contrary to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but mean another.

Question 28

Metaphor

Answer 28

implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words; the word is used not in its literal sense, but in one analogous to it.

Question 29

Metonymy

Answer 29

substitution of one word for another that it suggests

Question 30

Onomatopoeia

Answer 30

use of words that sound like their meaning

Question 31

Oxymoron

Answer 31

use of an apparent contradiction

Question 32

Paradox

Answer 32

an assertion seemingly opposed to common sense, but that may yet have some truth in it.

Question 33

Paronomosia

Answer 33

use of similar sounding words; often etymological word-play.

Question 34

Parallelism

Answer 34

two sentences have similar syntax.

Question 35

Paraprosdokian

Answer 35

surprise or unexpected ending of a phrase or series.

Question 36

Personification

Answer 36

attribution of human characteristics to something not human

Question 36

Pleonasm

Answer 36

use of superfluous words

Question 37

Polysyndeton

Answer 37

use of many conjunctions

Question 38

Praeteritio (=paraleipsis)

Answer 38

pretended omission for rhetorical effect.

Question 40

Prolepsis (anticipation)

Answer 40

use of a word sooner than it would logically appear

Question 42

Simile

Answer 42

comparison using a word like sicut, similis, or velut

Question 43

Syllepsis

Answer 43

use of a word with two others, with each of which it is understood differently.

Question 44

Synchysis

Answer 44

Interlocked word order

Question 45

Synecdoche

Answer 45

use of part to express a whole

Question 46

Syneisis (=constructio ad sensum)

Answer 46

the agreement of words according to logic, and not by the grammatical form; a kind of anacoluthon

Question 47

Tautology

Answer 47

repetition of an idea in a different word, phrase, or sentence

Question 48

Tmesis

Answer 48

the separation of a compound word into two parts

Question 49

Tricolon crescens (ascending tricolon)

Answer 49

combination of three elements, increasing in size

Question 50

Zeugma

Answer 50

use of one word in two different senses simultaneously