Figures of Speech and What They Mean

Figures of speech are used everyday. Most of the time we say them without even realizing it. Have you ever wondered what they really mean and where it came from? Read on to find out!

Have you ever wondered how exactly you “fall in love”? “Falling in love” is a metaphor used to describe emotion. A metaphor is the comparison of two very different things that actually has something in common. Source: grammar.about.com. I tend to think of it as the same as falling off a cliff. When you are “falling” for someone you lose somewhat control of your feelings. When your falling off a cliff you can’t control it, you just fall. Perhaps it is the same way when you “fall” for someone. You can’t help how you feel, you just fall.

Some common figures of speech we say and hear often are, “don’t count your chickens before they hatch”, let sleeping dogs lie, sleep like a baby, fighting like cats and dogs, over the hill, and under the weather. When just looking at the figures of speech it makes no sense, yet I am sure everyone of us knows exactly what it is saying. Funny how that works! My son was telling me the other day how to “make time fly. He said just throw the clock out the window!

Most figures of speech are broken down into types. There are the metaphors that I previously mentioned, similes, oxymorons, hyperbole, and personification. Let’s take a look at each one of these and some popular figures of speech that go along with them. Source: efl.htmlplanet.com.

As stated earlier, a metaphor is the comparison of two very different objects that have a common ground. For instance, “Joe is a teddy bear”. This give you the impression and says to you that Joe is cuddly and soft like a teddy bear. Joe is not actually a teddy bear! Although he could be, if you named your teddy bear Joe.

Now a simile is showing two things to be similar in some way. For example, sly like a fox and wise as an owl. When you say these figures of speech you are comparing them to similar objects or things to convey your point. Source: efl.htmlplanet.com.

Oxymorons are fun! An oxymoron is using two terms that normally contradict each other. Source: wikipedia.com. Some of my favorite oxymorons are: original copy, live recording, bittersweet, icy hot, same difference, silent alarm, new tradition, controlled chaos and organized mess. I really like the last two! Check out my article Almost Always Clearly Confused By Oxymorons.

Now a hyperbole is when a statement is exaggerated. Such as in, “this book weighs a ton”, “I could sleep for a year”, and “the path went on forever”. Each one of those statements are not a literal meaning, but an exaggerated one. Source: wikipedia.com

Personification is another form of a metaphor where an inanimate object is described as being a living person or animal. Here are some personification figures of speech. Dancing rain, smiling sun, singing wind, happy car, the walls have ears and money talks. They are descriptive, not literal.

As you can tell there are so many figures of speech that have different meanings. The English language has to be one of the most complex languages in existence. Now hopefully today you will go around and listen for popular figures of speech. You may even find yourself saying a few!

Sources:

http://www.wikipedia.com
http://www.efl.htmlplanet.com
http://www.grammar.about.com