Exercises – Stylistic Devices

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Choose the right stylistic device for each example.

  1. Her smile is like the sun.comapring two things; A is like Bsimilie
  2. The stone made a plopping sound as it entered the water. the pronunciation of the word imitates a sound (plopping) → onomatopoeia
  3. The joke was seriously funny. using two words with opposing meanings to describe something (seriously funny) → oxymoron
  4. The waves raced to shore.representing animals, inanimate objects or abstract concepts with human characteristics (racing waves) → personification
  5. A silver snake slithered across the sand.repetition of the initial sound of two words in a sentence (here the letter s) → alliteration
  6. At 5 o’clock the suits streamed out of their offices.the subject is replaced with a figurative expression that is closely associated with it (suits = office workers) → metonymy
  7. The rain fell hard on the tin roofs. The rain was cold and wet. The rain kept on for days.words or phrases are repeated → repetition
  8. When she started crying, I handed her a Kleenex.using a specific term for something general (here: a brand name for a general product) → synecdoche
  9. I’m going to powder my nose.a polite or indirect way of expressing unpleasant information (powder one’s nose = go to the toilet) → euphemism
  10. They have a million things to do today.deliberate exaggeration → hyperbole