Metonymy, Synecdoche and Mixed Metaphors
Metonymy
In metonymy, something is referred to by something else which has become associated closely with the first thing. For example,
- "The crown" is often used to refer to the Queen
- "The White House" is often used to refer to the president of the USA
- "Shakespeare" is used to signify "the works" of Shakespeare, as in "I have read all of Shakespeare"
- The evening gowns were accompanied by their dinner jackets (the ladies by their men)
Synecdoche
In a synecdoche, part of a thing is used to refer to its whole. For example:
- All "hands" on deck! (hands of the crew=the crew)
- Dear sweetheart! (a loved one is referred to as a heart)
- He's just a bum! (he is referred to by his bum because he sits around all day)
Mixed Metaphors
When one uses two or more metaphors which are incongruous, or do not sit well with each other, we are using mixed metaphors. This is not so much a separate figure of speech as an error in style. here are some examples:
- We can't stand idly by, and be murdered in our beds! (The Rev. Ian Paisley on a BBC broadcast)
- He took the bull by the horns and played his trump card!
- The ship of state, beset by many stormy seas, changed up a gear and rolled up its sleeves, ready for anything!
When metaphors are mixed intentionally, and by a skilled writer, there is no error. For example, Shakespeare, in Hamlet, shows Hamlet's troubled mind with a mixed metaphor (To take arms against a sea of troubles,/And by opposing end them (III.i.59-60))
Exercise
Say whether the following metaphors are mixed or not. Just write the numbers of the mixed metaphors.
- His bulbous eyes and spidery fingers
- His bulbous eyes and gnarled fingers
- She just sat back and rattled her sabre
- He girded his loins and pulled up his socks!
- The mayor sweated like a pig, great rivers of perspiration running in floods down his back
- She turned over a new leaf and rang the changes
- I'll pay you when my ship comes in, but right now I've got to set my mast against the storm!
- He's a pig, but his bark is worse than his bite!
- He's a pig - let him wallow in his sty and eat swill!
- We're all under starter's orders, ready to run our race!
