What is the purpose of a play on words?
A play on words can serve several purposes in written and spoken communication.
Purposes of wordplay include:
- humor
- irony
- subtlety
- emphasis
- creativity
- engagement
- persuasion
A play on words can serve several purposes in written and spoken communication.
Purposes of wordplay include:
Some words that rhyme with you are view, new, zoo, chew, stew, blue, and few.
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Alliteration and rhyme both involve the repetition of similar sounds, but there are some differences.
Alliteration is the repetition of an identical consonant sound at the beginning of words (e.g., “fresh flowers flourish fully”).
Rhyme is the repetition of an identical vowel sound or vowel/consonant combination at the end of words (e.g., “tree/bee,” “moon/spoon”).
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Alliteration is when several nearby words start with the same letter and make the same sound (e.g., “curious cats climb cliffs”).
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A conceit in literature is when the author uses an extended metaphor to compare two very different things, often in a surprising way.
One example of a conceit is in John Donne’s poem “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” where he compares two lovers to the two legs of a compass. While one leg spins, the fixed leg leans toward it, always connected.
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An extended metaphor is similar to a metaphor in that they both compare two things.
A metaphor is a basic comparison made in one line or phrase (e.g., “You are my sunshine”).
An extended metaphor uses more language to elaborate on a more complex level (e.g., “You are my sunshine. You brighten my day, and your love gives me a warm feeling.”
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Allegory and extended metaphors are similar but distinct.
An allegory uses characters, events, and settings to represent one or more comparisons throughout an entire story or work (e.g., Animal Farm by George Orwell).
An extended metaphor says that one thing is another thing and then elaborates by explaining how they are similar. For example, “Life is a journey. Each step takes us further, each turn opens to the unknown, and we sometimes stumble, but forward is the only direction.”
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A near rhyme is another term for slant rhyme, which describes words that have similar but not identical sounds (e.g., “bait/paid,” “film/kiln”).
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Orange is considered one of the hardest words in the English language to rhyme with, as there is no perfect rhyme.
However, the words hinge, syringe, foreign, and door hinge (two words) are slant rhymes and are considered the closest words to a word that rhymes with orange.
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Some words that rhyme with love are dove, glove, shove, of, and above.
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Some words that rhyme with me are tea, sea, degree, key, bee, free, and glee.
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Alliteration is the repetition of an identical consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words (e.g., “the crisp caramel cookie crumbled”).
Repetition is the repeated use of entire words or phrases throughout one or multiple sentences (e.g., “step by step, inch by inch”).
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Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound in nearby words and can occur at the beginning, middle, or end of the word (e.g., “We keep the keys in the green jeep”).
Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words (e.g., “Big brown bears bounce between boulders”).
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Consonance is the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning, middle, or end of the word (e.g., “The wild winds whisked the leaves away”).
Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound at the beginning, middle, or end of a word (e.g., “The smooth grooves of the music moved me”).
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There are two main differences between assonance and rhyme.
Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound in nearby words and can be at the beginning, middle, or end of a word (e.g., “She needs to feed the sheep”).
Rhyme is the repetition of a vowel or consonant sound, but it must be at the end of the word (e.g., “The cat sat on the flat mat”).
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Onomonopia is a common misspelling of the word onomatopoeia. The correct term refers to words that phonetically imitate the sounds they describe (e.g., snap, bang).
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One of the best examples of onomatopoeia in advertising is Kellogg’s slogan—Snap! Crackle! Pop!—to describe their Rice Krispies.
Onomatopoeia is used in this example to describe the sounds the popular cereal makes when milk is added.
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Onomatopoeia is often used in literature to enhance the reading or listening experience by using more impactful and immersive auditory language.
For example, in The Sound of Things Falling, Juan Gabriel Vásquez writes, “I heard a loud thud, and I turned to see the object that had fallen.”
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An example of anachronism in literature is Shakespeare’s reference to cannon fire in Macbeth.
The play is set during King Macbeth of Scotland’s reign, which occurred during the 11th century. However, cannons were not introduced to Europe until the 14th century—about 300 years after the setting of Macbeth.
This is an example of prochronism, a type of anachronism where something from the future is depicted in a past setting.
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Parachronism is a type of anachronism that occurs when something from the past is placed in a futuristic or modern setting.
In other words, parachronism is when a modern setting uses a person, object, or technology that doesn’t fit because it is considered outdated (e.g., a typewriter in a modern office setting).
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Constrained writing is a literary technique where writers follow specific rules or limitations while coming up with text. These constraints are often self-imposed and used as a writing exercise to inspire creativity and think within a set of boundaries.
Two examples of constrained writing are writing haikus or palindromes.
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The terms malaphor and mixed metaphor are often used interchangeably because they both involve combining phrases in a clashing way. There are some differences between the two, though.
A malaphor unintentionally combines two common phrases or idioms in an unexpected or nonsensical way (e.g., “Let’s burn that bridge when we get to it”).
Mixed metaphors are when two metaphors with clashing meanings are combined. For example, in the following sentences, the ideas of love as a plant and love as a baby bird are combined: “Love is like a seed. You have to water it and wait patiently. After many months, it might finally take flight.”
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The opposite of understatement is overstatement, which is a rhetorical device that uses deliberate overexaggeration to emphasize a point or evoke emotion (e.g., “I told you a million times!”).
While understatement is used to downplay the severity or significance of something, overstatement is used to make something seem more significant.
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Understatement and verbal irony are both figures of speech, but they serve different purposes.
Both understatement and verbal irony use roundabout language to express meaning, but they do so in different ways.
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Examples of understatement would be saying “It’s a bit chilly” during a severe snowstorm or saying “He’s not bad at cooking” to describe a world-class chef.
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Anaphora emphasizes the key message of the repeated word or phrase at the beginning of each sentence. It makes the phrase more impactful, can evoke emotions, and can captivate an audience (e.g., run far, run fast, run free).
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Poet Amanda Gorman used anaphora in her inauguration day speech in 2021 when she repeated “We will rise…” in her speech, “The Hill We Climb.”
“We will rise from the golden hills of the West.
We will rise from the windswept Northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution.
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the Midwestern states.
We will rise from the sun-baked South.”
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Epistrophe and anaphora both repeat words or phrases for emphasis, but they are different.
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Enjambed lines are lines in poems that continue from one line to the next without pause or punctuation. End-stopped lines pause at the end of a line in a poem, often because of a punctuation mark.
Enjambed lines allow for a more continuous flow throughout the poem, while end-stopped lines make the reader pause.
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Enjambment is important because it dictates the flow and rhythm of a poem. The seamless transitions between lines draw the reader along at the pace the author intended the poem to be read.
It also allows the poet to emphasize certain words. Using enjambment quickens the pace, so when the reader comes to an end-stopped word, it brings attention to it.
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Assonance and sibilance are both literary devices that involve the repetition of sounds, but they differ in the type of sound that’s repeated.
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words (e.g., “The rain in Spain mainly stays in the plain”). The vowel sound emphasized in this sentence is the long “a.”
Sibilance is the repetition of the “s” sound (or, similar sounds, like “z”) in nearby words (e.g., “He spoke in a soft, soothing tone, settling his son to sleep.”
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Semantic change is when the meaning of a word changes over time.
It can broaden where the definition becomes more inclusive, narrow where the definition becomes more specific, or it can shift the meaning entirely. For example, the word “awful” used to mean “worthy of awe” but now means “terrible.”
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Schemes and tropes are both rhetorical devices but serve two different functions.
Tropes are related to the meaning of words (i.e., a word or phrase that has a different meaning to its intended meaning). Schemes are related to word order, syntax, sounds, and letters (i.e., sibilance and alliteration).
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Some common romance tropes in literature and movies are:
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A synonym for trope is motif. Both refer to recurring elements such as symbolism, themes, or character types.
Two other similar terms are cliché, for overused and predictable tropes, and archetype, for universal character patterns.
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Synecdoche and metaphor are both figures of speech, but they are different.
Synecdoche uses a part of something to represent the whole (or vice versa) (e.g., “wheels” to refer to a car). A metaphor compares two seemingly unrelated things by saying one is the other (e.g., “life is a highway”).
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Synecdoche and metonymy are both tropes that replace one word with another. While they are similar, they are distinctly different.
Synecdoche is when you use a part of something to refer to the whole (or vice versa), while metonymy uses a closely related word to replace another word.
For example, referring to a newspaper as “the paper” is synecdoche because the newspaper is made up of paper, while “the news” is metonymy because it is a word closely associated with “newspaper.”
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Metonymy and metaphor are both figures of speech that relate one thing to another thing, but they do so differently.
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An example of metonymy is “Rising interest rates are making Wall Street nervous.”
“Wall Street” is used in place of “American financial markets.”
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An example of consonance is the repeated “l” sounds in the following sentence: “The little boy kicked the ball, his laughter ringing out as it rolled into the tall grass.”
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Verbal irony involves saying one thing but meaning the opposite, while Socratic irony involves feigning ignorance to provoke critical thinking in others.
Cliché can be used as a noun or an adjective. (“Clichéd” is more commonly used as the adjective form.)
Noun usage:
Adjective usage:
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The predestination paradox is a time-travel concept in which an event is both a cause and an effect of itself.
One classic example of the predestination paradox is from the science fiction film 12 Monkeys. The film’s protagonist, Cole, is sent back in time to gather information about a virus that kills most of humanity. He eventually learns that his own actions in the past contributed to the outbreak of the virus, creating a self-referential loop of cause and effect. By trying to prevent the catastrophe, Cole is causing it.
Other time-travel paradoxes include the grandfather paradox and the bootstrap paradox.
More broadly, a paradox is a saying or scenario that seems logically contradictory or impossible, which upon closer examination reveals a deeper truth or coherence within a specific context or framework.
Paradoxes and oxymorons both involve contradictions, but there is a key difference:
The plot of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 is a classic example of literary paradox.
The central paradox is that airmen who are considered insane can request to be grounded and thus avoid flying dangerous combat missions. However, airmen who request to be grounded based on safety concerns are not actually insane, having the presence of mind to recognize the danger of their situation. Heller uses this paradox to satirize the circular logic of military bureaucracy.
Heller’s paradoxical narrative is the origin of the term “catch-22,” which describes any situation where contradictory rules or conditions prevent a solution or escape.
Paradoxes can serve several purposes:
A famous literary play on words can be found in William Shakespeare’s Richard III:
“Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of York.”
This line blends metaphor with wordplay, using a pun on “son” and “sun” to depict Richard, son of the House of York, as the force that ends winter’s troubles.
An example of a play on words is the joke “He had a photographic memory but never developed it.” The word “developed” can refer to developing skills or developing photographs.
This particular form of wordplay is called a pun, creating humor using words or phrases with multiple meanings.
Cliché has several synonyms and near-synonyms:
| Noun | Adjective |
|---|---|
| banality
bromide chestnut commonplace saying platitude stereotype stock phrase trope |
banal
derivative hackneyed overused played out (slang) stereotypical tired trite |
Various short sayings can become clichés through overuse but lack the term’s inherent negative connotations. These include adages, aphorisms, catchphrases, idioms, mantras maxims, mottos, proverbs, slogans, and truisms.
In Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” he uses verbal irony to create tension and dark humor.
For example, Montresor offers Fortunato wine, saying, “It will help to keep us warm.” This statement is ironic because Montresor is leading Fortunato to a cold, damp catacomb, where he plans to kill him. Later, Fortunado says, “I drink to the dead who lie sleeping
around us.” Montresor responds, “And I, Fortunato—I drink to your long life,” though he means the opposite.
The verbal irony in “The Cask of Amontillado” complements the story’s dramatic irony, building tension for the reader, who is aware of Montresor’s true intentions.
A classic example of a double entendre is Michael Scott’s “That’s what she said” jokes in the TV show The Office. Michael uses this phrase to humorously imply a secondary, suggestive meaning to an otherwise innocent statement. This play on words contributed to the eccentricity of Michael Scott’s persona while adding a humorous twist to the show’s dialogue.
A triple entendre is a play on words with three interpretations based on the use of words with shared sounds or spellings. Triple entendres often have at least one taboo or risqué interpretation. The name “triple entendre” is based on the name of a more common rhetorical device, “double entendre” (originally from the French for “double meaning”).
An example of a triple entendre can be found in the song “Hotel California” by the Eagles. The line “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave” has at least three possible interpretations:
The opposite of verbal irony is straightforwardness—expressing one’s intended meaning directly without any hint of a hidden meaning. “Literalness” or “directness” also express the opposite of “irony.” The word “sincerity” is another antonym for “irony,” emphasizing that the speaker lacks any sarcastic or sardonic intent.
“No pun intended” is a common expression used to highlight a pun while ostensibly claiming that the pun was unintentional. This phrase is often used humorously to call attention to a pun that the speaker recognizes is cliché and likely to elicit a groan. However, in some cases the phrase is used sincerely, indicating that the speaker did not notice the pun until after it was spoken.
Puns and double entendres both involve double meanings, but there is a key difference:
“Smog” is a portmanteau of “smoke” and “fog” used to describe the visible air pollution often found in urban areas. The term “smog” was coined by a London resident in 1905 and gained prominence during the Industrial Revolution as cities experienced increased emissions from factories and vehicles. This illustrates the role of neologisms such as portmanteaus in marking societal changes.
Compound words and portmanteaus are both formed by joining multiple words, but there are a few differences between the two:
Malapropisms and spoonerisms are both humorous linguistic errors and literary devices. However, there is a key difference:
For example, “You have tasted two whole worms” (meaning “You have wasted two whole terms”) is a classic spoonerism from a 1911 issue of The Strand Magazine.
Both coincidence and situational irony can involve unexpected outcomes that evoke surprise. However, the terms differ in their emphasis:
The controversy surrounding Alanis Morissette’s song “Isn’t It Ironic?” centers on interpretations of whether the situations described in the song qualify as genuine irony or merely as instances of coincidence or bad luck.
Consonance and sibilance are both literary devices that involve the repetition of sounds, but they differ in the type of sound that’s repeated.
Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in nearby words (e.g., “Mike likes to hike and ride his bike”). The consonant sound emphasized in this sentence is “k.”
Sibilance is the repetition of the “s” sound in nearby words (e.g., “The whispering sound of the stream soothed their spirits.”
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Symbolism and metaphor are easy to confuse. However, they are two different literary devices.
Symbolism relies on symbols (objects, people, or colors) to represent abstract ideas or concepts. It usually has a direct connection to what it represents, and its meaning can evolve throughout the narrative. For example, in The Scarlet Letter, the letter A initially stands for “adulterer” but evolves to mean “able” by the end of the story.
A metaphor compares two seemingly unrelated things, stating that one thing is another. Metaphors are often brief, like the phrase “She’s a night owl.” The purpose is to create vivid imagery, exaggerate a trait, or express a complex idea.
Symbolism and metaphor both compare two things to each other, but symbolism is when one thing represents another, and metaphor is when one thing is another.
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Allegory and symbolism are similar, but they have one key difference.
In a narrative that uses symbolism, the symbol is a singular element that adds to the greater story. When a narrative is an allegory, nearly every plot element represents something in the story.
For example, the green light in The Great Gatsby is an example of symbolism because it’s a single element within the bigger picture.
However, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is an allegory because everything from the cave to the people, fire, shadows, and chains—basically, all of the major elements of the narrative—represents something to form the bigger picture.
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A classic example of symbolism in literature is the white whale in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.
Captain Ahab, the protagonist, enters a relentless pursuit of the white whale. Throughout the novel, the white whale appears only sporadically, but its presence looms over the entire narrative, and more specifically, Captain Ahab.
The white whale is most commonly thought to be symbolic of both the unattainable as well as how obsession can destroy and consume individuals.
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An example of an oxymoron is a “known secret.” Taken at face value, the two words contradict each other, but upon second thought, they combine to create a deeper meaning.
In this case, the deeper meaning is that something is supposed to be a secret, but everyone knows.
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Oxymorons tend to be intentional, but sometimes they are used unintentionally. “Act naturally” and “old news” are oxymorons that are sometimes used unintentionally.
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In Shakespeare’s Macbeth the audience knows that Macbeth plans to kill King Duncan to fulfill the witches’ prophecy of his becoming king. However, Duncan and the other characters, aside from Lady Macbeth, are unaware of his plans. This dramatic irony creates tension and suspense as the audience anticipates the unfolding tragedy while other characters remain oblivious to Macbeth’s sinister plans and ambitions.
Both dramatic irony and verbal irony involve a contrast between what is perceived and what is actually true in a narrative. However, there is a key difference:
Tragic irony occurs when the audience can foresee the impending downfall of a character, but the character is unaware. It is a type of dramatic irony.
Tragic irony is related to the concept of a tragic flaw, also known as hamartia. A tragic flaw is a character trait, typically one that is positive or noble, which when taken to an extreme leads the protagonist to their downfall.
Tragic irony can highlight the protagonist’s tragic flaw by emphasizing the gap between the character’s self-concept and the reality that the audience perceives.
Malapropisms and puns are similar, but they have key differences:
Cosmic irony, also known as irony of fate, is a literary device where the universe or fate seems to play a cruel joke by thwarting expectations. It is a type of situational irony that involves characters receiving the opposite of what they expect or deserve, giving the impression of a profound injustice inflicted by fate or a higher power.
Example: In the ancient Greek myth of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus tries to avoid his prophesied fate of killing his father and marrying his mother, but his actions unwittingly lead him to fulfill the prophecy. This irony highlights the impression that cosmic forces shape human destiny in unexpected and often tragic ways.
Socratic irony is the technique of posing simple questions, as if one were ignorant, to expose the ignorance or flaws in others’ arguments. The irony lies in the fact that by feigning ignorance, you can lead people to reveal their own misunderstandings or contradictions, encouraging deeper reflection and critical thinking. This method is a key part of the Socratic method of teaching and dialogue.
Example: In Plato’s dialogues, Socrates questions Euthyphro about the nature of piety. Socrates pretends not to understand what piety is and asks Euthyphro to explain it. Through a series of questions, Socrates exposes the inconsistencies in Euthyphro’s definitions, showing that Euthyphro does not actually understand the concept as well as he claims.
An example of irony in literature is in O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” where Jim and Della each sacrifice their most prized possession to buy a gift for the other: Della sells her hair for a chain, and Jim sells his watch for combs.
The situational irony lies in the fact that Jim and Della’s well-intentioned sacrifices make their gifts useless. This irony highlights the idea that the true value of gifts lies in the love and sacrifice they represent.
While irony is a technique used in satire, satire is a broad genre that aims to provoke thought and promote change.
“Paraprosdokian” is pronounced par-uh-pros-DOH-kee-an.
The word “paraprosdokian” is derived from the Greek for “against expectation.” It describes a figure of speech that establishes an expectation and ends with a surprise twist.
A figure of speech involving a sentence with a surprise ending is called a “paraprosdokian.” Other terms include “surprise ending” or “twist.”
Paraprosdokian example: “The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it’s still on my list.”
Common types of wordplay include puns, double entendres, paraprosdokians, spoonerisms, and malapropisms.
Cliché is spelled with an acute accent mark (é).
*The word cliché can serve as an adjective without modification because of its French origins as the past participle of “cliquer” (to click).
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