Definitions
This device compares two unlike things using the words "like" or "as."
What is a simile
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words in a sentence.
What is alliteration?
"He is a night owl" is an example of this device.
What is a metaphor?
"Her eyes were as blue as the ocean."
What is a simile?
In "Birds of a Feather," Billie Eilish sings, "Birds of a feather, we should stick together," using this device to describe two people who are naturally connected.
Answer: What is a metaphor? (or idiom)
This is a direct comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as."
What is a metaphor?
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words in a sentence.
What is alliteration?
"I’ve told you a million times to clean your room!"
What is a hyperbole?
If a writer describes a character's nose growing when they lie, they are making this to Pinocchio.
What is an allusion?
In the hit song "Lunch," the line "She's the headlights, I'm the deer" uses this device to show how the speaker feels captivated and frozen.
What is a metaphor?
This device gives human qualities, feelings, or actions to non-human objects or animals.
What is personification?
This device uses words that sound like the noise they are describing.
What is onomatopoeia?
An expression like "piece of cake" that has a meaning different from the literal words.
What is an idiom?
"To be or not to be" is a phrase everyone knows, but saying "don't be a Scrooge" is this device.
What is an allusion?
Taylor Swift’s "Bad Blood" features the line "Bandaids don't fix bullet holes," which uses this sound device with the repeating "B" sounds.
What is alliteration?
This is an extreme exaggeration used to make a point or add emphasis.
What is a hyperbole?
"Sally sells seashells by the seashore" is a classic example of this.
What is alliteration?
A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms, such as "only choice" or "bittersweet."
What is an oxymoron?
"Living dead" and "virtual reality" are examples of this two-word device.
What is an oxymoron?
In "I Knew You Were Trouble," the line "And he's long gone when he's next to me" creates a contradiction, making it this device.
Answer: What is an oxymoron?
A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, or thing of historical, cultural, or literary significance.
What is an allusion?
The "clatter" of pans and the "vroom" of an engine are examples of this.
What is onomatopoeia?
"The camera loves me" is an example of this.
What is personification?
"Under the weather" and "break a leg" fall into this category.
What is an idiom?
When a songwriter describes their "feet killing them" or says they have "a million things to do," they are using this common device for dramatic emphasis.
What is hyperbole?