Synecdoche Metonymy Definition and Usage Definition Using a

Synecdoche & Metonymy

Definition and Usage • Definition: Using a portion, quality, or association of something to substitute for the whole of something • Usage: – Add color or life to a noun or its description • As a metaphor would (because it’s a type of metaphor)

Using a portion of something to represent an entire noun or class of nouns • Farmer Jones has two hundred head of cattle and three hired hands. • If I had some wheels, I'd put on my best threads and ask for Jane's hand in marriage. • The army included two hundred horse and three hundred foot. • But when will we put boots on the ground?

Using a quality of something to represent an entire noun or class of nouns • Lt. Dan: I got to have those fast movers in here now. Over. • Gump: Lieutenant Dan, Coleman's dead! • Lt. Dan: I know he's dead! My whole goddamn platoon is wiped out! God damn it! What are you doing? You leave me here! Get away. Just leave me here! Get out! God, I said leave me here, God damn it! • Headquarters: Leg Lima six, this is strong-arm. Be advised your fast movers are inbound. Over.

Using an association of something to represent an entire noun or class of nouns • The White House issued a statement denying the allegations. • The Pentagon bombed them back into the Stone Age. • We killed us a lot of Reds. • Capitol Hill was in an uproar following the statement by the White House. • A couple of suits showed up at my door last night. • “Send a couple of squad cars over there. ”

Using a material of something to represent an entire noun or class of nouns • Because she was tired of Steven tickling the ivories, she took out her revolver and filled him full of lead. Then a flatfoot showed up and asked witnesses about the skirt who had corpsified Steven. • While Jack hits his woods better than Grace, Grace hits her irons better than Jack. • “Taste cold steel, do-gooder!”

Sentences! • Create one sentence from each of the different uses of synecdoche and metonymy (portion, quality, association, and material).