{"id":4180,"date":"2013-06-27T21:03:10","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T21:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/?page_id=4180"},"modified":"2026-03-26T09:52:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:52:50","slug":"figure-of-speech","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/figure-of-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Figures of Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"mmDeferVideoEncompass_DmBXQgPN1Xo\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n\t\t\t<picture>\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\">\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"> \n\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" id=\"videoThumbnailImage_DmBXQgPN1Xo\" data-source-videoID=\"DmBXQgPN1Xo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" alt=\"Figures of Speech Video\" height=\"464\" width=\"825\" class=\"size-full\" data-matomo-title = \"Figures of Speech\">\n\t\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<style>img#videoThumbnailImage_DmBXQgPN1Xo:hover {cursor:pointer;} img#videoThumbnailImage_DmBXQgPN1Xo {background-size:contain;background-image:url(\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/213-figure-of-speech-1.webp\");}<\/style>\n\t\t\t<script defer>\n\t\t\t  jQuery(\"img#videoThumbnailImage_DmBXQgPN1Xo\").click(function() {\n\t\t\t\tlet videoId = jQuery(this).attr(\"data-source-videoID\");\n\t\t\t\tlet helpTag = '<div id=\"mmDeferVideoYTMessage_DmBXQgPN1Xo\" style=\"display: none;position: absolute;top: -24px;width: 100%;text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;font-size: small;border-top: 1px solid #fc0;\">Having trouble? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v='+videoId+'\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to watch on YouTube.<\/a><\/span><\/div>';\n\t\t\t\tlet tag = document.createElement(\"iframe\");\n\t\t\t\ttag.id = \"yt\" + videoId;\n\t\t\t\ttag.src = \"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/\" + videoId + \"?autoplay=1&controls=1&wmode=opaque&rel=0&egm=0&iv_load_policy=3&hd=0&enablejsapi=1\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.frameborder = 0;\n\t\t\t\ttag.allow = \"autoplay; fullscreen\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.width = this.width;\n\t\t\t\ttag.height = this.height;\n\t\t\t\ttag.setAttribute(\"data-matomo-title\",\"Figures of Speech\");\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_DmBXQgPN1Xo\").html(tag);\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_DmBXQgPN1Xo\").prepend(helpTag);\n\t\t\t\tsetTimeout(function(){jQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoYTMessage_DmBXQgPN1Xo\").css(\"display\", \"block\");}, 2000);\n\t\t\t  });\n\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<p><script>\nfunction sI6_Function() {\n  var x = document.getElementById(\"sI6\");\n  if (x.style.display === \"none\") {\n    x.style.display = \"block\";\n  } else {\n    x.style.display = \"none\";\n  }\n}\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"moc-toc hide-on-desktop hide-on-tablet\">\n<div><button onclick=\"sI6_Function()\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/toc2.svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"show or hide table of contents\"><\/button><\/p>\n<p>On this page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<nav id=\"sI6\" style=\"display:none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Hyperbole\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Hyperbole<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Metaphor\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Metaphor<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Understatements\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Understatements<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"accordion\"><input id=\"transcript\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"transcript\">Transcript<\/label>\n<div class=\"spoiler\" id=\"transcript-spoiler\">\n<p>Hey, guys! Welcome to this video over figures of speech.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard thousands of figures of speech throughout the duration of your life, but maybe you\u2019ve just never realized what exactly they were.<\/p>\n<p>A figure of speech is literally anything that you would say that is not meant literally. This can take place in the form of a <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/hyperbole-and-understatement\/\">hyperbole<\/a>, <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/alliteration\/\">alliteration<\/a>, <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/simile\/\">simile<\/a>, <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/metaphor\/\">metaphor<\/a>, whatever!<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at some examples.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Hyperbole\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Hyperbole<\/h2>\n<p>\nFirst, let\u2019s look at these figures of speech that take place in the form of hyperbole.<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">I could eat a horse.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve told you a million times.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0em;\">It\u2019s taking forever.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Metaphor\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Metaphor<\/h2>\n<p>\nLook at these examples of figures of speech in the form of a metaphor.<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">The world is her canvas<\/p>\n<p>He is an early bird<\/p>\n<p>Heart of gold<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0em;\">Argue with a brick wall<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Understatements\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Understatements<\/h2>\n<p>\nThere are even figures of speech that are just understatements. For example, if someone were to have a pretty gruesome injury, and they respond with \u201coh, it\u2019s just a scratch,\u201d or, a perhaps more popular version of this, \u201c&#8217;tis but a flesh wound.\u201d Or, like when someone is actually referring to a temperature that is below freezing, and they say, \u201cit\u2019s a bit chilly.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>\nLike I said, figures of speech are everywhere. Maybe, with some of the examples I gave, you thought, \u2018I say that all the time, and didn\u2019t realize it was a figure of speech.\u2019 Well, now you know.<\/p>\n<p>Again, a figure of speech is anything said that is not intended to be taken literally and is only used to evoke a specific rhetorical effect. The customary definition of \u201cfigurative\u201d has always intentionally been contrasted with the \u201cproper\u201d definition of a phrase or word. In Greek \u201ctrope\u201d is the word for figure of speech, and trope means \u201ctwist or turn.\u201d So, hopefully, that gives you a more thorough understanding of what a figure of speech is.<\/p>\n<p>I hope that this video on figures of speech has been helpful. See you guys next time!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"home-buttons\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/writing\/\">Return to Writing Videos<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Return to Writing Videos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91303,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-4180","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"page_category-video-pages-for-study-course-sidebar-ad","7":"page_category-writing-videos","8":"page_type-video","9":"subject_matter-english"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4180"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280043,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4180\/revisions\/280043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}